Montecarlos Medium, El Salvador

Origin

• 🇸🇻 El Salvador

Tasting notes

Character

• Bright
  30
• Clean
  20
• Funky
  20

Montecarlos is a truly spectacular farm; it covers the entire circumference of a long dormant volcano nestled in a chain of volcanic cones, two of which have recently erupted. Near its base are fumaroles spewing sulfuric vapors, heating and turning the surrounding volcanic rock white. On one side is the Pacific Ocean and on the other the Central Plateau bringing warm winds up the northern slopes. Tall slender wind-break trees form walls which criss cross each other into neat squares throughout the farm. Inside the crater is a lush virgin forest surrounding a meadow with a pond below. The volcanic topography creates an ideal microclimate for coffee—with fertile soil coupled with high elevation and shade-grown coffee trees. Montecarlos Estate is owned and run by Carlos Batres and his wife, Julie. The couple were both educated in the US and have lived in metropolitan areas like D.C. and New York, as well as London, where Batres represented El Salvador at the International Coffee Organization before moving back to El Salvador. The farm has been handed down to family members for five generations, and in the mid-1980s, Batres inherited a slice of the land and has continued to expand it over the years, acquiring more land from neighbors (mostly relatives). He has now accrued at least 40 years working within the coffee industry. Montecarlos became the first estate in the world to grow and develop the Pacamara varietyVariety (cultivar)The botanical subtype of the coffee plant — Gesha, Bourbon, SL28 — analogous to grape varieties in wine. A major driver of cup character alongside origin and process. of coffee. Batres purchased most of the material El Salvador’s National Coffee Laboratory had been working on to cross the Pacas and Maragogype varieties. Between the years of 1987-1990 it was planted and developed at Montecarlos Estate, with the first commercial crop harvested between the years 1992 and 1993. Other varieties that each make up roughly 25% of the land are CatuaíCatuaíA Brazilian cross of Mundo Novo and Caturra: short, productive, storm-resistant. Sweet, mild, dependable — everywhere in Brazil and Central America., CaturraCaturraA natural dwarf mutation of Bourbon found in Brazil: compact plants, easier picking, bright and clean cup. A workhorse across Latin America., and BourbonBourbonOne of the two foundational arabica varieties (with Typica), named after Île Bourbon (Réunion). Sweet, balanced, caramel-leaning; parent of countless modern cultivars. (which we purchase annually). Pacamara grew popular after being acquired by Starbucks in 2004 and labeled as Montecarlos “Black Apron Exclusive,” and in the same ye