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Los Andes SL28, Washed
Los Andes SL28, Washed
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This coffee combines the beautiful sweetness and acidity of the Kenyan SL28 variety with the traditional and celebrated Salvadoran cup profile. A beautifully complex and elegant coffee, with balanced acidity, great sweetness and depth of flavour.
Ernesto is a multiple Cup of Excellence winner, taking home 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 the place of coffee in El Salvadors history and environment.
Producer: Ernesto Menéndez
Variety: SL28
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, mostcoffees 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.
+ Roast & Brewing Information
This is a medium roast and creates a perfectly balanced filter as well as a beautiful, but a relatively high acidity but balanced espresso. Don't let that scare you, this is worth tasting that way, and with milk.
Espresso 20:44g 28s
Filter 24:400g 3:30s
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