El Salvador | Finca Las Mercedes
La Avila Graduation Lot Washed
Apricot, Hazelnut Creme, Cocoa Powder
El Salvador | Finca Las Mercedes
La Avila Graduation Lot Washed
Apricot, Hazelnut Creme, Cocoa Powder
This approachable light roast opens with aromas of apricot, candied almond, and chocolate. Flavors of hazelnut creme, apricot, and caramel accompany honeydew acidity in the cup, with a bright touch of raspberry emerging in the finish alongside lingering cocoa powder.
Producer: Lucia Ortiz
Farm: Finca Las Mercedes
Region: Usulután Department
Altitude: 1,524-1,905 masl
Varietal: SL28
Process: Washed
Roast: Light
Notes: Apricot, Hazelnut Creme, Cocoa Powder
The Graduation Lot—so named because it was planted the year that Lucia's son graduated from high school—is comprised entirely of SL28 from Las Mercedes' high-altitude La Avila lot.
Within hours of harvest the cherries are brought to the on-farm mill and depulped, leaving a small amount of sweet, honey-like mucilage clinging to the parchment layer surrounding the beans. The coffee is left in a fermentation tank where enzymes break down the mucilage. After fermenting for 12-18 hours the coffee is sent through washing channels and then moved to drying patios.
Owned by the 5th generation of the Ortiz Barriere family, Finca Las Mercedes is everything we look for in a Direct Trade partner—and we've worked with them since 2006. Currently led by our friend Lucia Ortiz, Las Mercedes has become one of the top quality coffee producers in El Salvador. In fact, a lot from La Avila won the El Salvador Coffee of the Year competition in 2012.