Fernando Escobar
This one has got us all excited here! We’ve got a fantastic coffee for you. It’s packed full of flavour and has a unique story behind it. We’re proud to introduce, Fernando Escobar!
Finca El Cerro is a small farm located in the Apaneca mountain range west of the country, the farm sits at 1400 to 1500 metres above sea level, making it an ideal location to grow great coffee. The farm is surrounded by natural forests which helps to provide shelter for the coffee trees.
The Escobar family have been in the coffee business for five generations. Fernando took over control of Fina El Cerro five years ago when the farm hit tough times due to its size and market forces at the time. His parents focused on their other businesses and Fernando devoted his life to Finca El Cerro. Initially, Fernando put his attention towards the surrounding nature and beauty of the farm. Then, his goal was to increase the quality of the coffee on the farm. Himself and his team completely replanted the farm with only high cup quality varieties like Pacamara, Pacas, Bourbon and Geisha. We were lucky enough to get one of Fernando’s Pacamara Varietals!
Fernando also wanted to control the processing of his coffees on the farm. Originally, the farm sent their coffees to a wet mill in the are who would then process the coffee. Fernando and the team installed their very own mill on the farm. The coffee we have in stock is a processed using the washed processing method giving us a beautiful clean cup!
On Finca El Cerro, conservation is one of their main objectives. As they are surrounded by natural forests, Fernando wants to ensure that the farm does not have any negative effect on the forest. The farm use environmentally friendly farming methods that also ensures great quality coffee. The farm is also on its way to becoming a fully organic farm.
Fernando himself is a dedicated coffee professional. This is why we decided to name this coffee after him. He has competed in the El Salvador brewers cup in 2018 where he placed Third using a Hario V60 and his own Pacamara. He is interested in all aspects of coffee; cupping, roasting, brewing on top of growing and processing great crops. He is hugely concerned about climate change, and he told us it’s having a big impact on the amount of land suitable for coffee growing. He feels that the only way to keep growing, is to focus on producing higher quality coffees by planting new varieties, different farm management techniques and experimenting in coffee processing and drying.
Give Fernando (@cafe.runner) a follow on Instagram! His account is great, and he keeps us all updated on what he’s up to throughout the year!
We are delighted to be sharing such an amazing coffee, by such a dedicated farmer with you. It’s complex, with notes of Chocolate, Raspberry and Red fruits. You can grab a bag online here, or in store on Grand Parade! We know you’ll enjoy this one!