Filter & Espresso
48 hours: Cola, pear, vanilla
120 hours: Cola, applesauce, rum
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Apaneca-Ilamatepec |
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1,450 – 1,640 meters above sea level. |
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Red Bourbon |
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Natural Anaerobic 48 hoursNatural Anaerobic 120 hours |
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Ruffatti Family |
A coffee with anaerobic fermentation and direct treatment thanks to Rodolfo Ruffatti
The origins of Finca El Salvador
Finca El Salvador, FES, is a family farm located on the north face of Cerro El Águila in the Ahuachapan / Apaneca-llamatepec mountain range of El Salvador .
The estate was established in the 1920s and purchased in 1934 by Italian Rodolfo Ruffatti Riso from Turin, Italy, who had just landed in El Salvador to start a new life.
Since then, the farm has belonged to the Ruffatti family, and this year, 2020, his grandson, also Rodolfo Ruffatti, who has been a key player in managing the family business for years, will take over, replacing his father.
Location and planting
The farm is located at an altitude range of approximately 1,450 to 1,640 meters above sea level.
It has a production area of more than 70 hectares, and another 20 hectares of wild forest, with an annual production of more than 500 sacks of 69 kg.
The farm has focused on specialty coffee production for years, and in recent years has slowly shifted to exotic varieties such as Pink Bourbon from Huila, Kenia from El Salvador, SL28, Rume Sudan, Pacamara, and 74110 from Ethiopia.
To achieve this transition, they are planting the lower elevation parts of the farm with Tabi, Portillo, and Caturra varieties, intended for volume production and large lots, while reserving the higher elevation parts of the farm (1,500m+) for the more exotic varieties.
The farm also has tropical hardwood trees that provide shade for the coffee plants.
The El Salvador Farm today
Finca El Salvador, FES, provides work for 30 people year-round.
“A farming family lives on the farm, and now that I'm taking over, I'm preparing a plan to open a daycare center for coffee-growing children, so the workers can leave their children when they come to work,” says Rodolfo, who is very excited to have taken over the farm this year.
“Next year's tasting scores will reflect my work this year.”
The main challenges on the farm, Rodolfo tells us, are the lack of access to low-interest loans, extortion by criminal gangs, and the general crime situation in El Salvador.
Coffee processing
All coffee processing is done by the Productor Coffee team, also led by Rodolfo, at the Juayua processing plant, which the team founded to process coffees from their own farms, but also from neighboring farms in western El Salvador.
For these anaerobic batches, the selected cherries are left to ferment for a certain time under anaerobic conditions (without oxygen), where the aromatic and flavor compounds from the skin and fruit are absorbed by the bean.
The cherries are then left to dry on raised beds for days until the desired moisture levels are reached.
This year, the processing team opted for two versions: a shorter 48-hour anaerobic fermentation that enhances the coffee's fruity notes, and a longer 120-hour fermentation that enhances the coffee's ferment notes and intensified flavors.
FES and Ineffable Coffee
At Ineffable Coffee, we're thrilled to offer these two anaerobic batches of direct-processed coffees, which are now available through our online store.
We look forward to strengthening our relationship with Rodolfo and supporting him in the coming years as he embarks on his new adventure as head of Finca El Salvador (FES).
We have no doubt that his passion for coffee and his experimentation with planting and processing methods will lead him to produce some of the finest coffees in the world.
So stay tuned!
