Finca Mauritania, Santa Ana, El Salvador, 12 oz.

The place… Finca Mauritania is grown in one of the most perfect coffee growing microclimates on earth: the northeast slope of the Ilamatepec volcano near Santa Ana, El Salvador. This slope represents convergence of sun, shade, rain, and rich volcanic soil.

The coffee… is a rarity among coffees: 100 percent of the farm is planted with the heirloom Bourbon coffee variety. It’s not often we get to taste a pure, varietal coffee, since coffee farms are usually planted with a mix of different varieties. Finca Mauritania, however, is planted exclusively with the Salvadoran strain of the Bourbon variety, known to produce super-sweet, delicious, complex, and aromatic coffees.

It is Certified Organic. All too often, farmers feel like they have to choose between sustainability and quality, but Aida Batlle, who owns and runs Finca Mauritania, doesn’t make compromises. She has pioneered organic farming in this part of El Salvador, and has chosen natural, old-fashioned farm management techniques always. We think this is part of the reason this coffee tastes so amazing, and we're proud that Aida and her family have chosen to eschew chemical fertilizers and pesticides in favor of labor-intensive organic certified techniques.

The producer… this coffee is the product of a dedicated, passionate artisan of coffee farming, Ms. Aida Batlle. Passionate and committed to quality, Aida pours her heart and soul into her harvest. Aida obsesses over the smallest details of coffee cultivation and harvesting: from pruning techniques to finding just the perfect point to pick her coffees, to the exploration of difficult, taste-enhancing washing and drying techniques. She is recognized throughout the coffee world as a pioneer in great coffee flavor development, and her coffee is sought by roasters all over the world.

In the cup, the coffee is an immaculate presentation of what a great Salvadoran Bourbon coffee is all about. A balance of sweetness and acidity dominates, with nuances of butterscotch, sweet pastry, and roasted nuts. A hint of fruit rounds out the flavor; this is an elegant, well-constructed, and exuberant coffee.