85.91
Overview:
LA GLORIA La Gloria is a jewel previously owned by Abel Castillo, from whom Maria Jose and Luis Rodriguez bought it in October, 2009. After a month evaluating soil, vegetative tissue, extension, varietals, and investment needs, they got to acquire this small yet special piece of land located in a well-known area for growing awesome coffee. Many experts recognize the mountains surrounding Apaneca for their microclimate characteristics that have prove remarkable qualities for growing heirloom and exotic varietals consistently over the years. The name La Gloria, which in Spanish means Glory, was given in honor of Maria Joses mother, whos a big inspiration and supporter for this newlywed coffee couples endeavor. Despite the fact that the ownership of this farm has a short story, Maria Jose and Luis have both been in coffee for a while, Maria Jose is a fifth generation coffee grower with three years experience in quality and marketing coffee programs like CoE, and Luis, is a new grower, with a background of nearly ten years working in the Salvadoran coffee industry as market analyst, coordination of El Salvador s coffee marketing and development of quality and educational programs, among others. Nowadays, they founded a consulting company focused on sourcing exceptional and relationship coffees. La Gloria is a 2.6 hectares piece of coffee heaven with an average altitude of 1,450 m.a.s.l. and rich volcanic loam topped with a heavy coat of organic matter. The steep part of the farm is mostly grown to Bourbón and Pacas varietals, while a remaining flat plot or tablon is dedicated to the exotic Pacamara varietal. Coffee grows below a canopy of Ingas and other native trees that serve as a natural habitat to a wide variety of birds, small mammals, snakes and insects. Sounds of life can be heard from every inch of the farm adding to the atmosphere and the magnificent view of the Laguna del Espino and the Guatemala n border mountains. Some of the cultural practices performed are foliar and soil fertilization, maintenance of windbreaker barriers, appreciative coffee pruning, stumping and thinning, coffee tree renovation, shade tree pruning, maintenance of cajueleado or pit digging practices to collect organic matter, reduce erosion and oxygenate the land, and establishment of a coffee and shade tree nursery for replanting during next winter. Last year, a small variety garden with some 45 different varietals was planted for research and educational purposes, and this years plans include its further expansion. Maria Jose and Luis got this farm and made a commitment. They were harvesting the participant lot three days after they got married, so they spent their first honeymoon days over at the farm, working and supervising the picking and selection of perfect ripe cherries to compete in this years CoE. They are very proud and thankful with God because their hopes and efforts were awarded by winning a place in this years auction, since this is their first year as official coffee growers. They dedicate also this award to their family, friends and working staff from La Gloria, keeping their commitment of producing top coffees while keeping principles of hard work, ethics, innovation and transparency. Additional farm information:
Location: Apaneca, Ahuachapan Varieties: Bourbón, Pacas, Pacamara Rainfall: 2,100 mm
Soil Type: Loam Temperature: 19°C Total production (69kg bags): 25 bags Other: Coffee variety garden
Other crops: Avocado, lime, orange, peaches, mandarine Shade trees: Ingas Sp. (Pepeto peludo), mountain trees
Fauna: Armadillos, agouti, pocket gopher, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, snakes, hawks, migratory and native birds, etc.
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio El Carmen, Agricola San Agustin
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 13° 52 16.48 N
Longitude: 89° 49 24.50 W NUEVA GRANADAGloria Rodriguez is a fourth generation coffee grower and lover, thats been consistently awarded in CoE competitions since 2007 for her commitment to quality. She is a woman of grand spirit and experience. Her role as a female grower has never been easy, but she always finds a solution with a positive attitude and proactiveness. She owns and personally supervises five small farms located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range: San Jose, El Porvenir, Nejapa, La Lagunita and Nueva Granada. This year was this farms turn to compete in the CoE. Nueva Granada is the last farm acquired by the late Jose Maria Rodriguez, Glorias father, during the winter of 1987. It was previously owned by Antonio Alfaro, a well known coffee grower and mill owner who processed the familys coffee at the time. Its located at 1,350 m.a.s.l. in the town of Ataco, Ahuachapan, just 10 minutes away from Apaneca. Jose Maria determined Nueva Granada had great potential for quality coffee, at that time, the farm had been left neglected for a couple of years, however Jose Maria decided to put all his efforts into bringing it back up, taking just 2 years only to transform it into a lush and productive one. Since then, Nueva Granada became a very important part of the Rodriguez family. Gloria took over the responsibility of this farm in 1995, and a few years ago, she envisioned the need to differentiate all her farms, on this ideal, the Cup of Excellence has played a major role in her life to accomplish the objective she pursued. The farm is mostly grown to the heirloom Bourbón variety, and it also has a small percentage of Typica trees that were firstly planted in the area in the early 1900s. Its extension is 5.6 hectares completely dedicated to coffee growing. The pruning method selected to work this farm is selective pruning and steam and root bending (agobios) in order to take advantage of the coffee tree density at the farm, besides of being a highly regarded method of tissue management. Nueva Granadas shade canopy has approximately 85 Ingas trees per hectare, making it a perfect environment for birds and small animals. It is very common to see woodpeckers, hummingbirds, ground-doves, grey-lined hawks, grackles, etc. It is also very easy to spot small mammals, like pocket gophers also known as taltuza wondering around, this animal helps maintain the land loose and oxygenated. Every year, Glorias farms employ nearly 65 people during harvest, and all year round she manages a permanent working team of 12 to 15 people, among these, one fellow stands up, Antonio Avelino, her farms foreman or mandador. The idea is to have a solid trained and skilled working group that receive better wages and working conditions. In order to select the lot to participate in this years CoE, these growers set up some cupping sessions where they evaluated different farm lots. They decided to compete with a combined lot from La Gloria (55%) and Nueva Granada (45%) farms because of its cup profile, especially a distinguished sweetness, refined chocolate and caramel flavors and lemony bright acidity. Both farms are located only 2.5 miles away from each other, and were treated under rigorous harvesting quality standards, carried by the same picking team, supervision of cultural practices, meticulous harvest and milling. The milling process was performed at El Carmen mill in Ataco, depulping was performed within a few hours after harvesting, fully washed process, natural fermentation and sundried in clay patios. Additional farm information
Location: Ataco, Ahuachapan Varieties: Bourbón and Typica Rainfall: 2,200 mm
Soil type: Loam Temperature: 20 °C Total production (69kg bags): 45 bags Shade trees: Ingas Sp. (Pepeto peludo), mountain trees.
Fauna: Deer, armadillos, small felines, agouti, pocket gophers, opossum, squirrels, snakes, birds of prey, magpie, etc.
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio El Carmen, Agricola San Agustin.
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 13° 50 56.39 N
Longitude: 89° 51 20.80 W
| Rank | 16 |
|---|---|
| Farm Name | La Gloria/Nueva Granada |
| Farmer/Rep. | Majo, Gloria and Luis Rodriguez |
| Altitude | 1450 |
| Country | El Salvador |
| Year | 2010 |
| Size (30kg boxes) | 43 |
| City | Ahuachapán |
| Region | Apaneca-Ilamatepec |
| Program | El Salvador 2010 |
| Month | - |
| Aroma/Flavor | sweet brown sugar aroma, dark chocolate hibiscus, caramel, cinnamon, lemon peel, plum, jam- like sweetness |
| Acidity | complex, bright, citrus, dense |
| Other | juicy, sweet body, red wine, balanced |
| Processing system | Wash |
| Variety | Bourbón Pacas |
| Coffee Growing Area | 10.61 |
| Farm Size | 10.6 |
| Auction Lot Size (lbs.) | 2798 |
| High bid | 6.59 |
| Total value | 18438.82 |
| High bidders | Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Inc. |