El Salvador Cafe L'Etranger

The Café L’Entranger Estate marks our first venture into sourcing and offering direct trade coffee. During a recent origin tour to El Salvador, hosted by the Pono Collective, our Coffee Master, Christian, was deeply inspired by the innovative agronomy and processing techniques flourishing on Central America’s multi-generational coffee farms. This lot showcases the anaerobic fermentation method, a modern twist on traditional coffee processing. After being harvested at peak ripeness, the whole cherries are placed in an oxygen-free (anaerobic) environment, accelerating fermentation and allowing the fruit’s flavors to infuse into the coffee seeds within. This stage lasts for 70 to 120 hours before the cherries are transferred to raised beds to dry naturally. Through careful rotation, the cherries dry to an ideal internal moisture level of 12%, after which the dried fruit hulls are removed, revealing the parchment (or pergamino) that encases the beans. The parchment coffee then enters a resting, or reposo, phase for 30 to 90 days. Once rested, the beans are hulled, graded, and prepared for export. To preserve this coffee’s exceptional quality and purity, we opted for air freight, ensuring its freshness and avoiding any risk of contamination that can occur during ocean transit.