LAS BRISAS

Las Brisas - El Salvador

Origin: El Salvador – Sonsonate (Apaneca-Ilamatepec, Juayúa)

Producer: Carlos Pola – Finca Las Brisas

Cultivars: Farm Hybrids H-1 / H-2 (Caturra x Timor)

Altitude: 1,300 – 1,600 m

Process: Honey

Harvest: October → March

Origin and Production

Finca Las Brisas is located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, an iconic region for Salvadoran coffee. It is managed by Carlos Pola, a committed and innovative producer.

Coming from a coffee farming family, he first pursued a career as a quality engineer in the textile industry. In 1997, he purchased Finca Las Brisas, in addition to the two family farms, Finca San Antonio and Finca San Roque.

He thus embarked on coffee farming alongside his professional career with a clear vision: to produce quality coffee in a sustainable and fully traceable manner from the plot to the tasting cup.
In 2012, he definitively transitioned to coffee farming, taking over the family farms in addition to Finca Las Brisas.

Inspired by his work in the textile industry, he implemented precise monitoring tools, quality control at different stages of production, as well as an on-site laboratory to experiment with cultivation, fermentation, drying methods, etc., to improve the quality of his production year after year.

Among all his developments, based on both science and field experimentation, he notably:

• Adapted the way coffee trees are planted, in double rows separated by tree species that provide shade and also fix nitrogen in the soil.

• Also adapted the type of coffee produced, now only producing natural or honey coffees, which require significantly less water.

• Developed a method for recovering and fermenting processing water, to use it to cultivate and spread specific strains of fungi that work in symbiosis with the coffee tree to promote its absorption of nitrogen and phosphate in the soil.

• Developed his own fertilizer based on his production waste.

All this has enabled him to minimize the impact of his farm and production on its direct environment, by reducing his water, fertilizer, and pesticide usage to an infinitesimal amount.

In addition, Carlos Pola openly shares his practical results with other local producers to support them in improving their production and thus enable the development of their community.

For Finca Las Brisas, from the beginning, he also worked with a geneticist, Angel Cabrera, to develop hybrid varieties resistant to coffee leaf rust, drought (and therefore to risks related to climate change) while improving quality and productivity.
These hybrids, specific to Finca Las Brisas, called H1 and H2, are the result of 40 years of research and have been specifically adapted to the farm's microclimate.

Process

This coffee is produced using the Honey process.

After selective manual harvesting, the cherries are briefly dried in the shade for 3 days, allowing precise control of the fermentation that occurs at the beginning of drying. They are then de-pulped while retaining part of the mucilage.

Drying continues on raised beds for 15 to 20 days, with regular stirring to ensure perfect homogeneity.

This process allows for a sweeter and rounder cup, while limiting water consumption.