El Salvador might be the smallest of central American countries, but don’t let its small size fool you. El Salvador produces some incredible coffees that we’ve come to love over our years of partnership with producers in El Salvador. Cafénor is an organization committed to bringing sustainable growing practices and premiums to coffee farmers in the Metápan region of El Salvador. Alejandro Valiente and his team of agronomists and farm managers have helped find a collection of 65 farmers to join their project. This lot is comprised of Bourbon and Pacas varieties from the farmers of Metápan. The project works directly with 67 producers for 100% traceability on each micro lot, and a fully solar-powered dry mill has been established on-site to save on milling costs and to be fully vertically integrated into the supply chain. The team has been pioneers in sustainable practices and it’s inspiring to see how seamlessly their practices work with their environment to produce great coffees. This particular lot is a Bourbon varietal, characterized by an exceptionally clean, bright and sweet profile with strong citrus note. The country’s unusually high percentage of this renowned coffee varietal, however, is currently under threat from coffee leaf rust, whose impact on the country’s production has been sizable, resulting in a 20 percent drop in revenue from exports between 2011 and 2013. We are so excited to be partnering with Alejandro Valiente and his team to be serving this beautiful coffee and hope that you all are as big of a fan of it as we here at Coffee Manufactory.