Harvest 2023/2024
December 2023 The work of an entire year finally begins to ripen in our farms. Our precious coffee cherries located in Finca La Montaña have kicked-off our picking season (something different than in our previous years). The weather has really been a challenge, as rain during this time can put at risk the fruit still maturing on the trees and those drying at the mill. But our farm team always finds solutions and makes it their top priority to pick specialty grade cherries. We look forward to a safe and prosperous harvest!
What an amazing year with coffee! Taste and check out what's been brewing
Harvest 2022/2023
October 2023 HARVEST 2023 has arrived to Los Angeles! We are so thankful to have our beans safely tucked away in our storage. As small producers every delay and extra fee at the port can have a negative impact. However, with this being our third import, we have a lot more experience, patience and an amazing support system to endure the hardships of exporting. Nothing is more exciting than having our new harvest roasted and sharing them with our family and friends!
September 2023 Our coffee container has officially landed at the Port of Long Beach. The 3,000 mile trip from our small mountain town in Juayua, with harvest 2022/23 has reached its Los Angeles destination.
This year our shipment was delayed, as the aftermath of the pandemic continues to be felt throughout the coffee industry and beyond. But as with many previous obstacles, we continue to move forward. For the simple fact that this is more than coffee -- it's family, ancestral land, and specialty coffee varietals preservation.
This harvest we are proud to bring our specialty coffee beans: Honey, Wash and Natural Process. Looking forward to roasting and having these incredible beans on bar at our shop in East Hollywood, CA.
April 2023 Having reached its optimal humidity percentage of 12%, the parchment coffee seed is stored in a large warehouse at the Buenavista beneficio in Juayua. Here it will rest until ready for export. Storing coffee in a humidity controlled area is essential to preserving the SHG quality of the coffee. If allowed to sit in a moist environment the coffee could potentially mold, which would quickly be detected when brewed. This and many other factors must be considered when coffee is stored. Every step matters.
February 2023 After several months and weeks of hand picking coffee cherries, our 2022/ 2023 crop is at the mill, drying out to perfection. This is an exciting time, where we get to decide what process the coffee seeds will get. We continue to do a natural process for our Finca Las Lluvias and a Honey process for Finca La Montaña.
Quality control plays a big role during this time as well. Several daylots are selected throughout these months to get an idea on how the coffee is cupping. It is important to identify what areas at farm level are performing best and equally, which areas are not yielding the profile we aim for. It is always a great reminder that we don't own a coffee machine, that produces coffee beans without rest. On the contrary we mange land that is living-- and with much effort and care grow coffee cherries to use for our favorite drink.
December 2022 The end of the year finds us at the beginning of our coffee harvest, here at the farms. With the hope that the rains will end, and our coffee cherries can ripen without interruption. Unexpected rain is always a challenge during this time, it can damage the cherries and the seeds within, and cause delays during the drying process.
We always begin picking at Finca Las Lluvias, which grows some of our unique coffee varieties like moka and yellow catuai. Our ancestral avocado tree which is over one hundred years old also calls this finca home. A precious living element which we care for as it reminds us of our deeps roots to the land.
Harvest 2021/2022
July 2022 Our green beans have arrived! There is nothing more satisfying then seeing our container pull up, knowing that a year's effort has safely arrived in Los Angeles. Selling our coffee directly to local roasters greatly enriches the coffee community experience, as friends and family help us literally carry the burden of coffee (each coffee bag weighs about 150 lbs). This year our container was a little more full as we continue to work with other coffee producers in El Salvador who desire to sell their coffees directly to buyers in Los Angeles. Providing this options allows coffee producers not only to sell their coffees at a sustainable price, but also resist the way coffee has been dealt historically-- which has disadvantaged small producers, their workers and the land where coffee is cultivated.
We look forward to a great year with great specialty coffee beans!
May 2022 The time of rest has concluded. Coffee seeds stored in their parchment coverings must be milled and prepared for exporting. The year's production of Honey, Wash and Natural process coffee will now go through a multi-step operation until it reaches its final destination in Los Angeles. For so small a bean, it goes through a lot to be part of your brew of choice.
February 2022 Months full of hard work mark the end of our coffee harvest. We feel extra blessed this year with the production of our La Montaña farm. For many years it has been gradually rehabilitated, due to lack of financing. But that changed this season. Thanks to the commitment to farm-direct coffee from our buyers, true change is taking place. Our SHG farm has produced generously and several years of investment has finally seen a break through.
December 2021 This month marks the beginning of our harvest! The year has gone by quickly and here we are again with another promising crop. We begin picking at Finca Las Lluvias. Our team of workers select the trees which carry ripe coffee cherries. At the end of the day pickings are sent to our local coffee mill Buenavista, where they are further sorted and set out for a Natural process.
Harvest 2020/2021
June 2021 Exporting green coffee from El Salvador in the era of Covid-19 was a challenge. We got delayed in Juayua, but it gave us the opportunity to help a fellow coffee producer in San Salvador to export their coffee for the first time. Conditions at the LA shipping port were slow and the wait difficult. But all good things come to those who wait and we are surely blessed to have finally received our shipment this month. Harvest 2020- 2021 has made its long journey from the beautiful mountains of El Salvador to the big city Los Angeles... that cup of coffee is truly a miracle.
March 2021 We've reached the end of the picking season. Now it is time to give the coffee time to dry and rest in parchment. Plans for shipping are already on the move and shortly, the coffee will be milled to reach its exporting standard -- oro fino (green coffee).
October 2020 It has been a whirlwind of a year for all of us, and as it starts to wrap-up, at the farm we are gearing-up for our new harvest 2020/ 2021. The fruit is still green on the trees, heavy on many branches, but once the rains calm and the sun hits, it will become a field of red.
Work continues day to day, and we are taking the opportunity of an elongated rainy season to do a little more planting in our Finca La Montaña. In a gesture to help the coffee industry, the Salvadoran government donates young coffee plants. This year Pacamara saplings were donated and we eagerly picked them up. With the ground still soft from the rain, our team will home the new trees in an area that suffered a washout last winter. New plants are an investment for the next two to three years. Which is often the case with coffee, your hopes are often fixed in the future, while still pressing forward in the present to meet that future with strength and courage.
December 2020 The harvest has officially started, although four weeks later than last year. At the farms, we continue to pick the coffee cherry when ripe. This task can be tricky since all the fruits on the coffee bush do not ripen at the same time. Our picking crew takes their time to select, as best as possible the fruit that shows a beautiful deep red.
It will be several weeks of picking, switching between farms and many- many trips to one of Juayua's local coffee wet/dry mill to get several thousand pounds of uva (coffee cherry ) to its final green coffee form.
June 2020 This month initiated a new era for Cafe Juayua farms. It witnessed the arrival of our first coffee container shipment to Los Angeles.
We began making major changes 3 years ago as coffee growers ( 3 generations had grown coffee to sell only to large exporters), now we have the ability to export our coffee, a challenge, a dream and above all a game changer in how we do business. The main advantage --out of several-- is cash flow. Prior to exporting our coffee, the farm's only means of creating revenue depended on a once a year harvest, which was sold once a year to pay all incurred expenses, workers, reinvestment in farm, etc. In reality that once a year payout only would cover some of the debt incurred to cover the day to day expenses of the entire year. It was not sustainable, the farms were constantly at risk to debt and default and money was never left to reinvest in the farm. BUT that has all changed now. With our harvest readily available here in Los Angeles, cash flow now depends on our green and roasted coffee sales to local roasters, shops and online purchases.
Bringing our coffee straight to market, establishing our own price and sharing our family story turns the page in our story. Where these small family farms and all the lives connected to them get a new lease on life!
April 2020 Our coffee is taking some time to rest-- an important element in the coffee cycle (in all living cycles), now that it has reached the desired level of humidity. What could be more ideal after an adventurous journey of picking, washing, and drying? At Buenavista Mill in Juayua, coffee is stored in parchment, a natural occurring layer of protection which helps preserve the un-roasted coffee seed/bean. When the times comes to export and ship, parchment coffee will be mechanically milled/ hulled. This step will expose the beautiful jade bean in all its glory, giving the name "green coffee" a lot more sense.
Harvest 2019/2020
January 2020 we are well on our our way with the harvest. First pickings began in mid November at our Las Lluvias farm. With the holiday season we worked our largest farm La Montaña. For the first time since we began our farm-direct mission, we got the opportunity to maintain and harvest the entire farm. It is one of the many goals we have set, as we approach sustainability at farm level. This year, we plan on processing a few day lots a little different. The use of double fermentation is popular at the mills and we set aside few pickings for experimentation -- let's see how it goes!
October 2019 the rains are pouring onto our farms and we wait with much anticipation and a little hesitation. The coffee needs the rain to grow and plump-up into a beautiful cherry, but too much rain would stress the trees to drop their precious fruit.
During this rainy season we are also strategizing about how we will process the coffee this season. As we evaluate demand of green and roasted coffee throughout this year, we make an initial work plan for our wash, honey and natural process coffee. Only time will tell, how much of each coffee will get processed. We look forward to producing bold and delicious beans this year, like every year.
Harvest 2018/2019
February 2019 means the harvest is almost done and the coffee trees have been very generous this season. La Montaña, our highest elevation farm will be given its last run through at the beginning of the month. Most of the coffee collected from this farm will be processed natural, adding a complexity of flavor to an already delicious bean. Las Lluvias, still SGH, has produced tasty wash and honey processed beans. What a season it's been! Now it's time to share the fruits of this land.
December 2018 marks the end of our first picking in Las Lluvias (we will come back in a few weeks, this gives time for the rest of the berries to ripen). La Montaña our highest farm is coloring red with every day of sunshine that passes. Coffee picked from this farm will be exclusively Bourbon and Pacas with a Natural process. Because of the altitude, varietals and terroir the coffee from this location produces a unique cup with memorable flavor notes.
November 2018 has come and Las Lluvias, our coffee farm at 1000 m is ready for its first picking. The trees are heavy with coffee cherries that have ripened under days of rain and constant drizzle-- talk about a rain or shine situation. This year Las Lluvias has produced coffee of Bourbon, Pacas and Catimor varietals with a Honey and Wash process.
It's the season of rain in El Salvador and as it falls on our coffee trees we eagerly anticipate the growth it will produce in our beautiful cherries.
Harvest 2018/19 we await you.
Harvest 2017/
2018/
What an amazing year with coffee! Taste and check out what's been brewing
Interested in Wholesale?
This season we have green coffee available from both farms, in Wash, Honey and Natural Process
Email for further information: cafeartejuayua@gmail.com
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