El Salvador Natamaya Pacamara

Finca Natamaya is named for the two daughters of Hermann and Nena Mendez, Natalia and Mayita. In a way, this project represents the future, just like their daughters do. The farm was purchased by the family with the specific intention of developing the quality of the coffee to a level that land had never seen before. At Natamaya, experimental small lots of unique coffee varieties have been planted on the heels of standard quality improvements: better cherry selection, more consistency in drying processes, controlled fermentation. But what really took their coffees to the next level is a commitment to analyzing every detail available.

Developing a coffee like this Pacamara lot is not easy work. Experimental plots of land can often offer producers a way to establish a small lot of rare or sought-after varieties, but it also creates risk. It’s often expensive to plant new seedlings, and they need plenty of fertilizer and attention over a five year growth period before any coffee is even available for harvest.

The first time Jared visited the farm, Natamaya was just starting the conversion to high-end specialty lots. There was an empty plot of land on one of the higher slopes that Hermann explained was going to be utilized for planting the sought after auction favorite Gesha variety, the reliable Kenya-centric SL-28 variety, and, finally, the hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe: Pacamara. As Jared visited the farm in ensuing years, the plot was starting to develop, leading to the first Pacamara harvest two years, yielding a full bag, and to this year’s harvest — eight bags exclusively produced for Ruby.