El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Yellow Pacamara, Natural

El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Yellow Pacamara, Natural

Fresh, sweet pear fills this elegant cup, but there's a restrained funk from the natural process which adds a miso caramel edge to the finish and then a delicate bite of bitter orange on the aftertaste.

Roland last visited El Salvador in February as the harvest at Finca Argentina was just coming to an end. The farm is at a lower altitude than other producers we work with in El Salvador, so that shifts the harvests a little earlier than San Jose or Nejapa for example. He travelled with Mauricio to visit the Los Ausoles mill to cup the various fresh lots from the farm and everybody agreed that the Yellow Pacamara was tasting terrific this year. On the table at the time the samples included a Washed and a Natural, both of which cupped very well. You can buy Natural Yellow Pacamara coffee right here.

On The Farm

Near the town of Turin, in El Salvador's Ahuachapán department, you'll find Finca Argentina. Set within the Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec and surrounded by natural hot springs, the farm sits at 1,300 metres above sea level. Its 35 hectares are divided into seven distinct areas, or tablons. Each of these plots has its own character, shaped by the landscape and the subtle differences in microclimate that come with changes in altitude, aspect, soil, and even local volcanic activity. Over time, the team at Finca Argentina have invested heavily in exploring different varietals, learning which perform best in each part of the farm.

The Martinez Family

The farm was first acquired by the Martinez family in 1967. Dr Luis Guillermo Martinez bought the estate, and it quickly became his favourite and produced well. By the time his son, Mauricio, inherited in 2008, the cherry yields had dropped significantly, and he was unsure how best to proceed with his newly owned farm. It was here that his son (and our now good friend) Alejandro stepped in.

He had just relocated back to El Salvador after working as a city banker in New York and decided to lend a hand to his father’s business interests while looking for work. Ale’s interest was piqued when he saw that the farm had been classified for a Q auction in 2005, showing it had the potential for great coffee. He and his cousin based in London set about sending green coffee samples to roasters anywhere they could, seeking a specialty buyer. One of those landed with us in 2008 and we’ve been buying ever since.

Mauricio and Alejandro both now live in Canada, but Mauricio still owns and oversees the farm remotely. He relies on his farm manager and the on-site team to handle day-to-day operations and to keep him up to date, while visiting El Salvador regularly to check in. The Martinez family employ 50 people during the harvest and 30 the rest of the year. Mauricio's daughter Beatrix, who hadn't previously been involved in coffee, is also now stepping in to help with the family business. Processing of the coffee is carried out at the Los Ausoles dry mill, a cooperative facility in Ahuachapán. They have a very good relationship with Mauricio and have shown great consistency and reliability for us as buyers.

Highly Skilled Workers

Throughout the growing season at Finca Argentina, individual workers are given a lot of responsibility over pruning and managing trees. On many farms, pruning would be quite regimented (for example, every other tree gets a skeleton prune in this section), whereas Finca Argentina are leaving these decisions much more up to the knowledge of the staff, deciding on a plant-by-plant basis what kind of pruning is needed when they work through an area. It is easy to ruin coffee production on trees if you don’t make the right pruning choices, so this shows a lot of trust and is only possible when they retain and develop their workers’ skills long term.

El Salvador has been hit hard by the wider labour shortage impacting other Central American countries. Luckily Finca Argentina are currently managing well, but th

Produced by the Martinez family in the Ahuachapán region of El Salvador, this Finca Argentina lot showcases the unique characteristics of the Yellow Pacamara varietal. As a rare mutation of the traditional Pacamara, this cultivar is often studied for its distinct expression of terroir. The coffee undergoes a natural processing method, a technique where the cherry remains intact during drying, which can influence the final cup profile by emphasizing sweetness and body.

Roasted by Ozone Coffee, this selection presents a complex interplay of sweet pear, miso caramel, and bitter orange. When evaluating such nuanced profiles, it is helpful to reference a flavor wheel to better identify the specific aromatic compounds present. While natural-processed coffees often lean toward heavier fruit tones, the specific combination of the Yellow Pacamara varietal and the high-altitude environment of Finca Argentina creates a distinct sensory experience that highlights the meticulous work of the Martinez family.