News — el salvador

#OrigenCA2015, Part 5 - Loma La Gloria

This is Part 5 of our Coffee Origin Trip to Central America, follow along on Instagram with #OrigenCA2015. For Parts 123 or 4.


You haven’t called me in four years,” the tone was emphatic but playful, and I swear it’s only been three years, not four. But arguing a point with a Latin woman is always ill-advised.


 
Anny Ruth Pimentel observes the bags of pergamino (parchment) coffee stacked to the rafters in the bodega of Beneficio Loma La Gloria.

I first met Anny Ruth Pimentel in 2011 when she was training to be a...


#OrigenCA2015, Part 4 - Malacara B and El Borbollon

This is Part 4 of our Coffee Origin Trip to Central America, follow along on Instagram with #OrigenCA2015. For Parts 1, 2 or 3.

 
A worker picks out defects from African-style drying beds at Beneficio El Borbollon.

After a night of grilled meats, beverages, cigars and bonfires, the thought for Valentine’s morning was a leisurely cupping followed by breakfast and then a trip to visit Finca Malacara B - that is, until Roberto “Chele” Dumont showed up at our door at 7:30am.

 
Rodrigo Dumont details an example of the Agobio Parra style of...


#OrigenCA2015, Part 3 - Cuatro M

This is Part 3 of our Coffee Origin Trip to Central America, follow along on Instagram with #OrigenCA2015. For Part Two.

 

After morning breakfast with Hermann and Nena Mendez, we’re on the way back down the mountain a bit to Cuatro M Coffees - a beneficio specializing in processing high-quality microlots. At the helm of Cuatro M is Emilio Diaz, coffee grower, miller, roaster and a vocal leader within the Roasters Guild of America. We’ve been invited by Emilio to stay at the mill, tour the facility, watch production and sample processed coffees from...


#OrigenCA2015, Part 2 - Finca Talnamica

This is Part 2 of our Coffee Origin Trip to Central America, follow along on Instagram with #OrigenCA2015.


Three year old Oscar Jesus welcomes us to Finca Talnamica while the workers sort their harvested coffee cherries.

The journey from Nicaragua to El Salvador was a relatively easy one, except for waking up for the first flight out after having spent the evening eating and imbibing at one of my favorite restaurants in Managua: Taska Kiko.

 I’m on the road with Jeff Babcock (owner of Zoka Coffee, Seattle), Celeste Clark (Zoka’s head roaster), Jack Kelly (owner of Ladro...


Upcoming Charmery Releases

Just finished prepping the new ice creams for The Charmery that they'll release over the next week or so. As we've been moving into regular production with David and Laura, it's been a fun challenge to come up with something interesting every production cycle. Typically, we're preparing about nine gallons worth of ice cream but in order for the flavors to come out right, we're also prepping them days ahead of time. Add to that the calculation of roasting, degassing and allowing flavor maturation of the coffee itself and we're actually looking at about a two week lead time from...