Getting to know El Salvador's Unique Coffee

One of the highest quality and most aromatic coffees in Central America.

El Salvador is a Central American country bordering Honduras and Guatemala and bordered by the Pacific Ocean. With a rich history in the Pre-Columbian period of Central America, San Salvador was colonized by the Spaniards and finally gained its independence in 1821. El Salvador has a turbulent history full of coups, instability, civil wars and social problems that have just been settled.

Always an agricultural economy, El Salvador found in coffee a product that literally transformed the country economically, socially and culturally. Let's get to know better the aromatic and delicious coffee of El Salvador!



A Brief History of El Salvador Coffee

Coffee cultivation was introduced in El Salvador in the early 19th century, but it took decades for it to become systematized and commercially viable. By 1880, coffee had become the country's main export, thanks to incentives given to coffee producers by the government, which included even .... exemption from conscription for coffee plantation workers. Unlike other Central American countries, such as Costa Rica and Guatemala, coffee growing in El Salvador grew on its own, without foreign funding and know-how, and that in itself is a small economic "miracle." Coffee has become a mainstay of the economy, and has catalyzed the modernization of the country (through the construction of railways, roads and infrastructure) but has also had a social impact, helping to integrate indigenous communities into local communities.

The first serious crisis in the country came in the late 1970s and was the result of government policies, catastrophes and especially the beginning of the civil war that plagued the country for years. This resulted in a drop in production, with quantities declining significantly in the following years. Gradually the situation normalized, however coffee ceased to be a monoculture and does not have the importance and glamor it enjoyed in the middle of the 20th century.

Today, El Salvador is among the 20 largest coffee producing countries in the world, while the coffee produced in the country is considered to be of exceptional quality and is often marketed as a specialty, single-variety coffee, having fanatical fans.

What does El Salvador coffee taste like?

El Salvador coffee has a taste that is quite reminiscent of Central American coffees, with a delicious profile that is usually characterized by notes of caramel and chocolate. Depending on its quality and terroir, many find hints of honey and brown sugar, while the fruity character is also not uncommon. The country cultivates exclusively Arabica coffee, while almost all of the cultivated areas are located at high altitudes (over 1500 meters), which endows the coffee with interesting aromas, but also with a special, lively acidity.

Coffee from El Salvador is great for blending, as it can be combined with the lively coffees of Africa or the rough coffees of Asia, but it also creates excellent marriages with beans from Central and South America, with which it also shares common characteristics. However, there are many coffee makers who insist on enjoying it as a single variety of coffee, enjoying its special aromas to the maximum.

Two coffee suggestions with aroma from El Salvador!

Paradiso El Salvador El Divisadero Pacamara 250g σε κόκκους: Single origin, Micro - Lot 100% Arabica coffee of natural processing from one of the oldest plantations of El Salvador, the Himalaya plantation at 1600 meters. The rich volcanic soils, the microclimate of the area and the thick shade of the forest that grows next to the coffee trees endow the coffee of the local Pacamara variety with unique aromas of caramel and cocoa, along with fruity notes reminiscent of fig, plum and pineapple.

Costadoro Arabica Master Club 1000g σε κόκκους: Eight varieties of Arabica are mixed with a secret recipe that has remained unchanged since 1980. The high quality coffee beans from El Salvador come from the best plantations in the country and coexist harmoniously with beans from Costa Rica, Brazil and Africa, in a unique espresso blend which is the "heavy artillery" of the Italian Costadoro.

What if he literally went through fire and iron? The only El Salvador coffee is here, to intoxicate us with its unique aroma!