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Los Andes Bourbon, Washed
Los Andes Bourbon, Washed
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This is the exemplification of the traditionally celebrated Salvadoran cup profile, with the bourbon variety and local terroir combining perfectly. A beautifully complex and elegant coffee, with balanced acidity, great sweetness and depth of flavour.
Ernesto is a multiple Cup of Excellence winner, taking hope the experimental processing prize in last years auction, but he's also one of the most passionate and capable farmers I've met, with a deep understanding of soil, plant chemistry and coffees place in El Salvadors history.
Producer: Ernesto Menéndez
Variety: Bourbon
Location: Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range, Santa Ana
Process: Washed
+ Broader Context
Ernesto (Neto) Menéndez is a well-known name in the coffee industry and has won the coveted Cup of Excellence several times, as well as his coffees being used to win 2 World Barista Championships and many National competitions.
Nestled in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, Los Andes farm is approx 5 hectares, and is one of the farms Neto owns alongside La Illusion, Alaska and Las Brumas, each of which has placed first in the Cup of Excellence between 2007 and 2024. Ernesto holds a lot of knowledge and is always very communicative about how he takes care of the farm, and how he processes his coffees. Walking his farms with him is a powerful learning experience as he holds so much knowledge and skills from agriculture, coffee processing through to the cupping table.
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. As a result, the Bourbon varietal at Los Andes now grows right beside the SL28 trees, some of which are now almost 80 years-old. For comparison, most of our coffees come from plants that are only 3-20 years old. At Los Andes, everything is left to grow "wild" to create a more wild forest environment and the coffee is produced in harmony with the nature. This is also why Ernesto keeps the older plants around, instead of simply planting new ones. The plants age and grow into the natural forest environment that Ernesto is looking for and make the environment really special.
The FOB price paid for this coffee was 4,20 USD/lb. We're able to share some of Ernesto's beautiful coffees through our partnership with Steve and Joanna at Drop Coffee. Neto also produced the coffee with which Dale won the World Barista Championship in 2017, so being able to offer his coffees connects Ithaka with our past, and will be a bright part of our future.
+ Roast & Brewing Information
This is a medium roast and creates a perfectly balanced filter as well as a beautiful, but relatively high acidity espresso. Don't let that scare you, this is worth tasting that way, and with milk, or maybe alongside its Natural processed sibling.
Espresso 20:40g 30s
Filter 24:400g 3:30s
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