Bright and syrupy orange like character in this balanced lot by the Alvarez family.

This lot comes from the northern slopes of the Picacho Volcano in the Bálsamo-Quezaltepec coffee region, in the municipality of Nejapa, Department of San Salvador. The estate has been in the family since 1880 after being bought by Dr. Emilio Alvarez Lalinde when the family migrated to El Salvador from Colombia bringing with them their ancestral knowledge in coffee production.

The estate is now run by the Alvares Gallardo family who took over in 1992 bringing a new passion and dedication to the farm working hard to achieve RFA certification as well as improving all aspects of the estate. The estate is made up of 90 hectares of coffee producing land and 5 hectares of natural forest allowing the wildlife to flourish. Starting at 1070 masl the farm is a long thin strip which climbs up to 1800 masl producing 3000 bags annually.

The coffee is delivered to the El Borbollon mill where it is floated and separated the coffee is then placed submerged in a sealed container for 24 hours before then being removed and cleaned. From here it is then placed onto raised beds left for 1 day before then being turned regularly every hour to ensure an even drying down to 11%. The anaerobic process encourages a more pronounced acidity but still with the body and flavour of a natural.