El Salvador Coffee turbulent History Story Fair Trade affects El Salvador Black Honey to deal with Coffee Wind

The turbulent history of coffee has left a deep impression on the history, politics and development of El Salvador. No other country in the region is so dependent on coffee, whose fortunes rise and fall sharply with the boom and bust cycles brought about by what Salvadorans call "el grano de oro" ("gold grains"). Coffee, however, treats elites whose wealth rose in good times and survived busts, as well as small farmers and workers who are exploited almost all the time.

Indigo has been El Salvador's most important export crop for many years. In the 1880s, coffee overtook indigo as the main export crop and was seen as a way of progress and development. In fact, coffee creates not only great wealth for the landlord elite, but also opportunities for the rulers.

In 1881 and 1882, the so-called liberal reforms were promulgated, which greatly changed the land use rights of the country. As a result, the peasant class was forced to work in poor coffee, sugar and cotton plantations, depriving nearly half of El Salvador's population of land, and few farmers had more rights to the land than workers' property.

In 1895, General Thomas Ragalado won the presidency. The position enabled him and his family to plant coffee trees on 6000 hectares in six different provinces, expanding coffee's dominance and building its own wealth over the next period.

In the 1920s and 1930s, coffee exports alone accounted for 90% of the country's total exports. However, the global recession of the 1930s pushed El Salvador to the edge. The combination of the strong control of the coffee plantation class and the desperate rural proletariat proved to be as unstable in the 1970s and 1980s as it was 50 years ago.

The coffee industry survived and even prospered after the Great Depression. El Salvador has become one of the most advanced coffee producers through the introduction of modern technology and complex systems in coffee processing into plantations. By the 1970s, El Salvador had become the fourth largest coffee exporter in the world, but neither the land aristocracy nor the modern elite factions were interested in addressing the poverty and chaos associated with the coffee trade. In the late 1980s, El Salvador's elite modernization sector hoped to expand its control over El Salvador's economy and diversify its assets. In the 1990s, 78% of coffee farms and 40% of the total area were in the hands of small producers. In addition, coffee trees account for most of the woodland in the second largest deforested country in the hemisphere, and coffee provides direct employment opportunities for 155000 Salvadorans.

Although today's coffee farmers face many challenges, those farmers organized in Fairtrade cooperatives have received the best prices, as well as technical assistance in coffee production, marketing and export. In addition, because they belong to a global network of fair trade advocates and buyers, they are able to take advantage of development projects and other forms of support from government, non-governmental and religious development agencies.

The first Fair Trade Cafe, Foto Caf é, opened in San Salvador. The cafe only sells coffee from two Fairtrade cooperatives: El Pinal and Las Colinas. Photos on the wall and pamphlets on the table help Salvadorans understand the plight of farmers and the importance of Fairtrade coffee. Cafe owners hope they can start to influence the buying decisions of local Salvadorans while taking advantage of more and more foreign tourists coming to the country.

Fair trade has changed the lives of these farmers and others involved in coffee cooperatives. The more Fairtrade coffee is sold in this country, the more opportunities other farmers have and the greater the impact.

El Salvador has always been one of the favorite coffee producers in Qianjie. Today, I would like to introduce a coffee bean from El Salvador.

Country of origin: El Salvador El Salvador

Producing area: apaneca-llamatepec, Apaneca Mountains

Manor: Lemus Manor finca lemus bella vista

Altitude: 1250 m

Variety: bourbon

Treatment method: black honey treatment

Grade: SHB

Production season: 2020

This coffee bean is roasted in cinnamon color in front of the street. due to the black honey treatment, the sweetness and aroma of this coffee is very obvious. The flavors tested in the cup are citrus, berry, grape and cocoa.