Introduction to Apaneca-Ilamatepec, a coffee producing area in El Salvador

The economy of Central America is dominated by agriculture, especially for export of bananas, coffee, sugar cane and other tropical cash crops, all because the topography of the region is dominated by plateaus, mountains and forests, and has a volcanic belt more than 1300 kilometers long.

Due to the accumulation of volcanic ash, fertile soil and diverse climate here, many countries in Central America are famous for producing coffee. Among them, El Salvador produces much less than other countries, but El Salvador has a unique planting environment and diversified flavor performance.

Until the advent of coffee, the plant dye indigo had been El Salvador's main export crop, but in the 19th century, with the emergence of new and cheaper man-made dyes, the country's indigo export business gradually disappeared. coffee replaced indigo as the country's largest export crop.

But coffee-growing land was largely held by the country's politicians, including the then president, who once owned more than 6000 hectares of land. And these politicians use their positions (and the army) to force farmers to cede land and do low-paid or unpaid work on estates, but these politicians are willing to invest in infrastructure, allowing the coffee industry to flourish. In 1920, 90% of El Salvador's exports were coffee, and by 1970, El Salvador became the fourth largest coffee producer in the world.

But the good times did not last long. The civil war in El Salvador broke out in 1979 and did not end until 1992. Although it affected the coffee industry, it also brought about new land reforms, breaking down many large estates, cutting up the land and redistributing it to landless workers. Today, 95% of coffee growers in El Salvador grow coffee on less than 20 hectares of land, and although coffee production has declined a lot, the country's coffee industry is beginning to shift towards quality.

Such achievements are all due to the unique planting environment in El Salvador, known as the "country of volcanoes", with 25 volcanoes, mainly mountainous and plateau topography, and fertile soil. The whole territory has a tropical climate, but the mountain climate is cool, with an annual rainfall of more than 1800 mm. Although the country now has only 11% of the forest area due to urbanization, 7% of which are coffee farms, it plays a good role in environmental protection. More than 90% of the local coffee grows under shade trees, which slows fruit ripening, maintains the diversity of local and migratory wildlife, supports aquifers through water storage, and prevents soil erosion.

Coffee producing areas are spread all over the country, of which the Alotepec-Metapan high mountains of Alotepec-Metapan in the north and the Apaneca-Ilamatepec volcanic areas of Apaneca-Iramatpec in the west are the most famous, appearing in the COE competition in El Salvador all the year round. Most of these producing areas grow Pacamara and Pacas varieties and have repeatedly won places in coffee competitions.

Apaneca-Iramatpec Apaneca-Ilamatepec is El Salvador's largest producing area, located in the west of El Salvador, full of forests, lakes and mountains, as well as four volcanoes, mainly Santa Ana (also known as Ilamatepec volcano), while coffee is grown on slopes at an altitude of 800 to 2300 meters above sea level on both sides of the mountain range. Although volcanic activity is frequent here, the ash gives more fertile soil and a diversified microclimate. This makes it possible to produce high-quality coffee, and most of the estates in COE in El Salvador this year are from this area, including the second place in the tanning group, El Aangel.

The owner of El Aangel is Rafael Gerardo Silva Esteves. The estate was first acquired by the Mathies family in 2016, when it was just a piece of land, began growing coffee in 2018, and Rafael worked in the farm's factory until 2022, when Rafael acquired the estate.

The estate is located on a volcano in Santa Ana, at 1650 meters above sea level, and the climate is different from other estates. The climate is hotter and drier, it is very suitable for sun treatment, and there is a greater temperature difference between day and night. Together with the mineral-rich volcanic soil, it helps to produce high-quality coffee. The estate currently grows varieties such as Pacamara, Pacas, Geisha and SL28, while owner Rafael says some new varieties, such as Sidra and Chiroso, will be introduced in the future.