El Salvador - Los Pirineos - 72hr Anaerobic Natural

Origin: El Salvador
Region: Usulutan
Farm/Farmer: Diego Baraona @ Los Pirineos
Elevation:1400 MASL
Processing Facility: On farm
Varietal: Bourbon
Processing Method: 72hr Anaerobic Fermentation
Tasting Notes: Black Currant, Red Wine, Stone Fruit, Vanilla

Diego Baraona is a fifth generation coffee producer carrying on his families tradition and legacy. The farm, Los Pirineos, has 20 varietals in production ranging from Bourbon, like this bean, to the highly sought after Gesha (originally grown in Ethiopia), and SL-28 (that originated in Kenya). The farm is situated at 1400 MASL on a stand-alone volcano that provides excellent soil and a microclimate that is sunny and warm during the days, with a persistent mountain breeze, and cool nights, conditions that coffee trees thrive in. Utilizing the natural features near the farm, Diego has the raised drying beds set up between the two peaks of the volcano where a natural wind tunnel is formed creating a very consistent drying process for the coffee cherry, without needing additional resources for the process. Additional measures taken to be environmentally responsible include using collected rainwater for the processing, maintaining the shade trees that his father planted which created habitat space for the local fauna while also shading the coffee trees, and keeping bees on the farm to pollenate all of it.

Anaerobic Processing is the use of controlled fermentation to manipulate the sugars and acids present in coffee cherries, changing the flavor profile of the bean. All coffee goes through a low level of fermentation (in the cherry, after picking and before processing), but using a yeast mother mix, lactobacillus cultures, or other media (like co-ferments that use fruit juice) to soak the cherries, producers can change the coffees profile and create a wide variety of flavor compounds. This processing method is constantly evolving as farmers experiment with new techniques (the original "fermentation" technique is the Natural Process), but usually the Anaerobic Processing starts with sealing the coffee cherry (still in its skin) inside large plastic barrels or Grain-Pro coffee bags full of liquid (or sometimes gasses) with a one way valve that allows any remaining oxygen to purge as the coffee cherries release their own gas (CO2). The coffee is left in the oxygen free environment for anywhere from a few hours up to a week or sometimes more. Once the fermentation is complete the cherries can be either de-pulped, washed, and dried (Washed Anaerobic), or it can be left to dry in the cherry before being sent through a dry mill (Natural Anaerobic).

This coffee went through the initial sorting process before being places in sealed barrels with a fermentation slurry. The barrels were placed into a refrigeration unit at 16 degrees Celsius (~60 degrees Fahrenheit) for 72 hours. Once the fermentation is complete, the PH is checked to maintain consistency and quality, before the cherries are spread on the raised drying beds, which allows for the airflow above and below the coffee and across all of the beans evenly. Finally, the dried layers of skin and fruit matter are milled off of the coffee seed (bean) before the coffee is sorted, graded, and prepared for shipping. We tasted the complex tart characteristics of black currant and plum, and the 72 hour anaerobic processing presented some of the fermented red wine notes we love while still preserving vanilla notes on the nose.