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Finca Selva Negra

El Salvador is known for its strong presence in the coffee industry. Above all, the region called Santa Ana near the Guatemalan border produces well-balanced coffee with high acidity emanating from the soil of volcanic ashes.

The coffee, locally called Kenya, a cultivar of Arabica, is said to have been found growing wild by Salvadorians visiting Africa in 1960s. It was then brought back to El Salvador and transplanted. Kenya, grown only in a limited region, was almost extinct.

When Jose visited Finca Selva Negra, he accidentally discovered Kenya growing. Even farm supervisors were not aware of its existence. This rare coffee was luckily added to Gran Cru lineup.

The Kenya coffee tree grows tall with long, thick, flexible trunks. Its leaves are dark green and its buds bronze colored. Its beans are larger than Tipica or Bourbon, and surprisingly juicy. When ripe, its red cherries are surprisingly juicy and flows abundantly if opened.

A Serendipitous Aroma and Taste

In 2008, as Jose was walking on Santa Ana mountain seeking out new coffee, he came across with a tree with red coffee fruit that he had never seen before. He could not believe he had never seen such a tree before, given his earlier school and residency days in El Salvador.

He asked the foreman the name of the species, and he said “Kenya”. Jose neither heard of Kenya, nor had such a name been reported to exist botanically. He had been in Kenya, Africa several times but had not seen a tree like this one. Jose spent more time walking and noticed young avocado trees. Once the coffee was harvested, the foreman added, that the field would used to grow avocado. “We can’t let that happen!” Jose said. He then discovered that the farm’s owner turned out to be an uncle of Jose’s friend.

Jose arranged with the foreman that the only fully ripe cherries be harvested from a limited number of trees in one week’s time at the peak of the season, and that the cherries be forwarded to the washing mill of Jose’s friend. One month later, a report of Kenya cultivar coffee just dried reached Jose. Just as he expected, the coffee was said to have a unique taste, not at all like Salvadorian coffee, but exotic and unusual.

In May, when curing was completed, Jose flew to el Salvador to taste the coffee. It had a marvelous aroma and tasted uniquely spicy though hard to describe exactly. Convicted with the coffee’s market potential, Jose met with the owner. The owner, who had verified Jose’s coffee expertise, listened to Jose intently. He then promised to turn the avocado field back into a coffee field.

This attractive coffee was added to the Grand Cru Cafe lineup although the crop is limited. The challenge remains to find a way to produce a larger crop without compromising quality.