Natural El Salvador Microlot

Grape jam, cherry cola, and red wine acidity. This naturally processed microlot from Finca Noruega deliveries a nuanced cup highlighted by fruity aromatics and a pop of cola on the body. This coffee is best when brewed as a pour over, but is sturdy enough to stand up to any brew method.

Finca Noruega is a 25.2-hectare farm founded in 2017 by Los Naranjos Coffee. They are located near the town of Apaneca. This farm is currently part of the Renacer Project, a coffee development center for small- and medium-sized producers working to improve coffee quality in El Salvador. They also have earned several Cup of Excellence wins.

Known as “the land of volcanoes,” El Salvador is the smallest Central American country (roughly the same size as New Jersey), but its reputation among specialty-coffee-growing regions has grown larger-than-life, especially since the early 2000s. While coffee was planted and cultivated here mostly for domestic consumption starting in the mid-1700s, it became a stable and significant crop over the next 100 years, notably increasing in national importance during the late 1800s, when the country’s indigo exports were threatened by the development and widespread marketability of synthetic dyes.

As coffee grew in economic importance, different government programs designed to increase production through land, tax, and military-exemption incentives created a small but strong network of wealthy landowners who gained control over the coffee market, in addition to the individual smallholders who were growing coffee as part of their subsistence farming and would sell their cherry to the larger estates or mills.

By the late 1970s, coffee exports accounted for 50 percent of the GDP, but socioeconomic and political unrest hurled the country into civil war for more than a decade, and in the 1980s various land-redistribution projects and agrarian reform disjointed the coffee industry and caused the market to decline. Lacking the resources to continue farming, producers abandoned their coffee farms, and many were left overgrown and unharvested for years until a peace agreement was reached in the 1990s.

It is often said that the Cup of Excellence competition, which came to El Salvador in 2003, was the beginning of the new “wave” of interest in Salvadoran coffee, shining the first light on some of the special varieties the small country grows.

El Salvador

Our coffees are roasted to be approachable and versatile, whether you brew with a drip machine, pour over, or espresso. We focus on balanced flavor and consistency so you can make a great cup without overthinking it. As a starting point, we recommend a 16:1 brew ratio, meaning 16 parts water to 1 part coffee. From there, adjust to taste and enjoy it fresh.

We roast coffee with balance and intention, focusing on bringing out the natural character of each coffee rather than forcing a specific flavor profile. Each roast profile is shaped by factors like country of origin, processing method, and elevation. Every batch is roasted to order in small quantities to ensure freshness and consistency, with the goal of making coffee that is enjoyable, approachable, and worth coming back to.

Pour OverPour Over