The San Carlos Cooperative was first started in 1980, made possible by the agrarian reforms implemented by the El Salvadoran government, which redistributed the land to small farmers. The 672 hectares farm is at 1665 m asl on Monte Cacahuatique, a strategic point for the government during the civil war: it was tall enough to allow views from its summit across the region. The company has 126 associate members with their families, all living together on the land and working on the farm as a group, with the land split into 25 separate plots.

The cooperative members started to implement good soil and water management practices, minimizing the use of agrochemicals, promoting organic fertilizers, and implanting better practices for land management. On the land they manage, they maintain 338 infiltration wells that help to provide drainage for rainfall.

Originally, they only grew pacas and bourbon and recently added a small amount of Pacamara.

The wet mill and patios for processing coffee are located at 1400 meters up the mountain, which offers a perfect location for drying the coffee as it is situated facing the north/northeast, which is the direction of the prevailing winds which helps to keep the temperatures stable for drying the cherries.

For this year’s crop 2019/20, the coop has been trained on producing experimental micro-lots and improve processing, and the lot we are presenting is one of them.

This lot is 100% bourbon and comprises a few small day lots that have been macerated for 90 hours in barrels and then washed and cleaned before being dried on the patio for 10 - 13 days.

The favorable meteorological conditions, such as a dry and never-too-hot climate, the experimenting in the drying phase, and superior control of the fermentation, lead to extremely clean and complex cup profiles.

The coffee is full of sweet flavors in the cup, resembling sweet orange, hazelnut cream, and honey. It works very well as espresso, but this lot is also delightful in filter extractions.