El Salvador - Las Laderas

Fernando’s family care for no less than 22 farms - around 1,000 acres - all differing in altitude (from 1,000 to 1,900 masl), climate, and soil. While the rich volcanic soil is ideal for coffee growing, such geography has wrought havoc over harvests in the past; in 2005, the Santa Ana volcano (the highest peak in El Salvador) erupted for the first time in 101 years, depositing ash and rock over Las Laderas farm. Over 97 percent of the harvest was lost that year. While it took five years for the land to fully recover, Fernando saw the loss as an opportunity to do better, seeking sustainable solutions for growing as well as processing the coffee, respecting tradition as well as innovation.

In El Salvador, coffee farms have become a protective habitat - and one of the few remaining areas - of natural forests. All of Fernando’s plantations are organically grown, Rainforest Alliance and Bird Friendly certified, helping preserve a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. These protected forests mean that 100 percent of the coffee plants are shade grown, ideal for the slow ripening of the cherries, which benefits the final cup flavour. Every step of the process on each farm is thoughtfully considered, with preservation at the heart of every decision.

Fernando’s nature is one of nurturing as much as it is about exploration. He’s a keen collaborator, open-minded and extremely hard-working. While some of the coffee trees on his farms are over 70 years old - some from the seeds of the very first bourbon trees to be planted in El Salvador -  Fernando also oversees the task of planting around 100,000 new baby trees at the beginning of the country’s rainy season (May - August). Varietals grown include Pacamara, Bourbon, Castillo, Caturra, Sarchimor, Kenya, and Catuai.

The combination of the high altitude of the farm, rich volcanic soil, and forest canopy means that Fernando has the key ingredients for growing coffee–but rather than rely on the landscape, he ensures that every step of the process is carried out with care.