An outstanding offering from the mountains of Central America
Sadly, the big reason El Salvador has been in the news of late is for the cynical brutality of its autocratic leader and the Soviet Gulag-style prison. The good news is that there is a LOT more to this lovely country than the bad things that appear in the headlines. This coffee is one of them. A lovely brew, made from beans grown by quality-conscious, community-minded farmers in the mountain regions of the country. This amazing coffee is an excellent example of what is possible when good people work in harmony with nature—it’s everything that politics is not. Grown with great care and delicacy, in ways that enhance biodiversity and bring the beauty of the soil and the El Salvadorian ecosystem into our world here in Ann Arbor.
For those of you who haven’t memorized the geography of Central America, El Salvador is on the southwest coast of the isthmus. If you drive down the Pacific coast from California, you’ll get, of course, to Mexico, then to Guatemala, and then to El Salvador. If you keep going, you’ll hit Honduras for a bit, then, next Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and finally Panama, before arriving in South America. These beans are grown in the mountainous landscape and tropical climate of El Salvador’s mountainous Apaneca-Ilamatepec region, in the northwestern part of the country, where volcanic eruptions over thousands of years have left behind a healthy and rich soil. The Apaneca district only has about 9,000 people (for context, the University of Michigan has about 45,000 students; Ann Arbor in 1900 had a population of about 15,000). The folks at the GEMA farm work hard to protect the natural forests while growing their coffee and enhance biodiversity in all their work. After handpicking, the beans are washed and then sun-dried to concentrate the flavors.
The coffee itself is awesome. Really, really terrifically tasty. I’ve been working my way through all the brew methods at the Coffee Company since the El Salvador Apaneca started coming out of the roaster a couple weeks ago. All are good, but I’ve loved it in a siphon best. Super smooth, soft, and lovely with a snippet of toasted sesame, maybe a titch of toasted walnut. Mellow and juicy. Matthew at the Coffee Company says it reminds him of tangerine. In an Aeropress, it was wonderfully light, almost like a strong black tea—I loved it! It’s got a lot of high notes—all violin, no bass or drums.
The El Salvador is eminently drinkable, with no noticeable bitterness that I can find. The El Salvador brewed as an espresso is sweet and super tasty, and as Tom, who works at the Coffee Company, told me with a big smile, “It’s really chocolatey!” Toasted almonds. Maybe a little like golden raisins. I loved it.
