Los Andes, Washed SL28, El Salvador

Origin

• 🇸🇻 El Salvador

Tasting notes

Character

• Bright
  30
• Clean
  20
• Funky
  20

Flavour description : A nutty and caramel like aroma. The coffee has a medium intense passion fruit -like acidityAcidityThe bright, lively, fruit-like sensation in coffee — praise, not a flaw. Citric sparkle, malic apple-crispness, tartaric wine notes; light roasts preserve more of it. with flavour notes black currant , lemon curd and rhubarb pie . It has a long-lasting aftertaste of hibiscus and a bit of a cooling sensation. The bodyBodyThe weight and texture of coffee in the mouth, from tea-like and delicate to syrupy and heavy. Driven by process, roast, variety, and brew method. is light to medium and the mouthfeel is juicy . Colour to describe flavour : Light Purple Category: Curious Producer : Ernesto Menéndez Farm: Los Andes Varietal : SL28SL28A Kenyan variety selected in the 1930s by Scott Agricultural Laboratories, prized for intense blackcurrant acidity and deep sweetness. Process: WashedWashed processThe fruit is removed from the seed before drying, usually with fermentation and a water rinse. Tends to give clean, transparent cups where origin character shows clearly. Location : Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range, Santa Ana Altitude: 1720 masl Harvested : March 2025 Roast style: Light to medium to enhance the naturalNatural processThe whole cherry is dried with the fruit still on the seed. Gives heavier body and big fruit flavors — think berries and wine — sometimes with a fermenty edge. flavors of the coffee. Price transparency : The FOB price we paid for this coffee was 4.95 US$ per pound Ernesto Menéndez is a well-known name in the coffee industry and has won the coveted Cup of ExcellenceCup of Excellence (COE)A national competition and auction that identifies a country's best lots each year; winning 'COE' lots command dramatic price premiums. several times. We're so honoured to have his five hectare farm Los Andes farm produce exclusively for Drop Coffee! Los Andes farm is about 5 hectares, which yields a bit more than we typically buy, but we find it well worth committing to all of the coffee to maintain this valuable partnership. Ernesto holds a lot of knowledge and is always very communicative about how he takes care of the farm, and how he processes his coffees. Walking the farm together with him is like opening a true treasure, he holds so much knowledge and skills from the agriculture, processing and to the cuppingCuppingThe standardized tasting ritual — coarse grounds steeped in hot water, crust broken, slurped from a spoon — used to score and compare coffees. table. Los Andes has quite an interesting story. Almost 60-70 years ago, the previous owner of the farm planted SL28 trees on the land which had been taken home from a hunting trip in Kenya. As a result, the BourbonBourbonOne of the two foundational arabica varieties (with Typica), named after Île Bourbon (Réunion). Sweet, balanced, caramel-leaning; parent of countless modern cultivars. varietal at Los Andes now grows right beside the SL28 trees, some of which are now almost 80 years-old. For comparison, most of our coffees come from plants that are only 3-20 years old. At Los Andes, everything is left to grow "wild" to create a more wild forest environment and the coffee is produced in harmony with the nature. This is also why Ernesto keeps the older plants around