El Ingenio coffee farm
El Ingenio COFFEE FARM, El Salvador
Extract Coffee Roasters has been working with El Ingenio, a green coffee farm on the Urrutias Coffee Estate in the foothills of the Santa Ana Volcano in El Salvador since 2016.
The rich volcanic soils, sustainable farming techniques and careful processing mean El Ingenio produces incredible quality coffee.
MEET THE Urrutia FAMILY
The Urrutias estate has been handed down through the generations since 1875.
Today, it is run by sixth-generation coffee farmers, Rene, Gustavo and Enrique. Extract has been lucky enough to meet the farmers on numerous occasions and even host a farmer talk with Gustavo at our Extract London headquarters.
Shade-Grown Coffee. Protecting Natural Forests
All of the coffee from El Ingenio is shade-grown. This means the coffee is planted below a canopy of other trees in the forest rather than in cultivated fields.
The shade provides optimum growing conditions for arabica coffee, protecting the plants from the heat of the sun, while the falling leaf litter adds nutrients back into the soil.
Farming this way allows the local ecosystems to thrive and biodiversity to flourish.
The farm is Rainforest Alliance certified with 30% of the land dedicated to natural forest and new trees planted every year.
El Ingenio is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, home to more than 24 species of mammal, 259 species of insects and 120 species of migratory birds.
Gustavo claims that researchers have even discovered species of plants growing on the farm which haven’t been recorded anywhere else in the world.
Despite all of this, Gustavo also told us that the effects of climate change are felt accutely on the farm.
Warmer climates mean rainfall can be unpredictable and plant-diseases – like rust – are becoming more prevalent. A devastating fungus, coffee-leaf rust has the power to destroy entire harvests.
What is Honey-Processed Coffee?
A question we get asked a lot, is honey-process coffee vegan friendly? The answer is yes: no bees involved!
For this coffee, El Ingenio pick only the ripest cherries and remove just some of the cherry skin and fruit from the seed, which is known as pulping.
With the mucilage still intact, the coffee is left to dry on raised beds, and partial fermentation of the fruit is encouraged.
The process is named this way because of the honey-colouring of the cherries as they dry and because process brings out the sweetness and fruitiness of the coffee.
GROWER PROFILE: El INGENIO
| Farm: | El Ingenio |
| Owners: | Urrutia Family |
| Varietals: | Bourbon, Pacas & Pacamara |
| Processes: | Honey Process |
| Altitude: | 1200-1800m above sea level |
| Region: | Apaneca, Ilamatepec |
| Country: | El Salvador |
| Environmental Conservation: | Rainforest Alliance certified, Unesco Biosphere Reserve, shade-grown coffee, protected natural forest |
| Working with Extract since: | 2016 |