Drop Coffee - Los Andes, El Salvador

Flavour description: A bright yet well balanced El Salvadorian style coffee . The coffee has a medium acidity of lime juice and flavour notes of red apples and almond cake, with an aftertaste of lime zest. The body is light and juicy. 
Producers: Ernesto Menéndez
Varietal: Bourbon
Location: Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range, Santa Ana 
Harvested: March 2021
Altitude: 1720 masl
Process: Fully washed, being both ours and Ernesto's favorite process for the Los Andes to present the clarity in the cups. 
Roast level: We are roasting this coffee for vibrancy and clarity in the cup, with a light to medium roast profile. 
Price transparacy: The FOB price paid for this coffee was 5.5 USD/lb

Los Andes is an outstanding coffee. The Bourbon varietal from Los Andes showcases how different the varietal can taste based on terroir. Expect a juicy, bright and clear cup profile with a lot of acidity from lime. 

Ernesto Menéndez is a well-known name in the coffee industry. He has won The Cup of Excellence several times, and we are proud to have the five hectar farm Los Andes farm exclusively for Drop Coffee. This was to motivation for Ernesto to started separating the SL28 from the Bourbon for us a few years ago, and now he has started doing a natural process for us as well. This means you can taste the two very unique taste profiles from Los Andes grown side by side at the farm, and the Bourbon in two different processing methods. 

The coffee is produced with most possible harmony with the nature. Therefor Ernesto is keeping the plants instead of planting new, this coffee is from trees that are 60-70 years old.

Drop Coffee and Los Andes
Los Andes is exclusively Drop Coffee, it is about 5 hectares which is a bigger size for us at the moment but we find it worth taking a little more of this coffee, for the clear cooperation between Drop Coffee and Los Andes. Ernesto holds a lot of knowledge and is always very communicative about how he is taking care of the farm, and how he is processing the coffee. Walking the farm together with him is like opening a true treasure, he holds so much knowledge and skills from the agriculture, processing and to the cupping table.  

The Bourbon varietal at Los Andes  
Los Andes has quite an interesting story. Almost 60-70 years ago, the previous owner of the farm planted SL28 trees on the land which had been taken home from a hunting trip in Kenya. Normally the trees we're buying from are from 3-20 years old.

The Bourbon varietal is growing right beside the SL28, some of the trees are even older, coming up to 80 years.  Bourbon coffee was first produced in Reúnion, which was known as Île Bourbon before 1789. It was later taken by the French to mainland Africa and to Central America. The taste profile of Bourbon is one that we like the most in El Salvador, its mature sweetness matches the slightly bigger mouthfeel that is typical for the country. 

At every coffee farm, the plants are unique. At Los Andes, everything is left to grow "wild" to create a more wild forest environment. The plants age and grow into the natural forest environment that Ernesto is looking for, the plants make the environment really special. 

The FOB price for this coffee was 5,50 USD per pound.