EL SALVADOR
Finca Montealegre is located on El Balsamo Mountain Range of El Salvador. Initially a bálsamo plantation, Montealegre became a coffee farm in the 1950s.
Jorge and Ana María have implemented fully organic methods since 2012. This not only highlights their commitment to quality but also emphasizes their commitment to their employees, customers, the community, and most importantly the environment.
In a country where coffee farmers are abandoning coffee farms due to low market prices and development is overtaking fertile land, we need people like Ana María and Jorge to protect the environment, grow delicious coffee, and create opportunities for future generations to get excited to grow coffee.
"For us coffee is life, it's part of our culture, it's part of sustainable progress, and we are proud that now it can be enjoyed by people all over,” said Ana María.
This medium roast coffee is very well balanced. It combines sugar browning notes of chocolate and honey with the bright sweet citrus flavor of tangerine.
Country: El Salvador
Region: Denominación de origen Café Bálsamo, Quezaltepec
Producer: Finca Montealegre
Producers: Jorge y Ana María Escobar
Process: Washed
Harvest Season: November - February
Average Temperature: 67ºF
Certified Organic since year: 2017
In the 90’s the coffee rust affected El Salvador and the country’s coffee production went down 90%, from producing 4 million coffee bags per year to only 400,000 coffee bags. In 2012 Ana Maria and Jorge, owners of Montealegre, re-established Montealegre farm, taking over with a different vision and leadership: Organic farming, committed to producing high quality coffee, friendly to the environment and sustainable to the community. From Jorge Escobar, owner of Finca Montealegre: “In Finca Montealegre we believe that growing coffee under shade and ecological methods greatly supports keeping our water resources and preserving the environment. By buying our products directly you are helping us and our community to continue farming friendly environment products like coffee, and help us to overcome the actual crisis related to prices. Mayorga Organics bought 100% of our crop this year and with the prices they paid it has helped us to continue making a difference, a difference to continue working and offering jobs to these 25 families and a difference in helping us continue protecting the environment by organic farming. This type of direct trade is the only way we can survive, there is no space for a middle man structure, as this leaves nothing to the producer in Latin America.”
