This complex profile is a blend from around the world: the first comes from producers growing coffee in northern Burundi; the coffee from El Salvador was grown on El Carmen Estate, run by Fernando Alfaro; and the Guatemalan coffee grows high in the mountains of Huehuetenango on Finca La Intelligencia, run by Itiel Vásquez.

According to our importer partner Crop to Cup, who imported the Burhorwa, no other country excels in the small-scale farmer context like Burundi. This tiny country, which shars borders with Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, has many small-scale farmers, some producing coffee on such a small scale that they make more income from their dairy cow in a day than they do in a year from coffee. This of course carries its risks (when coffee is an afterthought), but, with the proper partners and washing stations in place, the organization and quality control bears unique, delicious coffees.

This coffee was grown by the Alfaro family on El Carmen Estate in western El Salvador, deep in the Apaneca-Llamatepec mountain range. El Carmen was founded in the middle of the 19th century by Antonio José Alfaro, and it’s been passed down for four generations. It’s now being run by Fernando Alfaro. This is an extremely well-run specialty estate, and the family oversees every detail of the coffee’s journey, from growing and harvesting to washing and drying.

The last component in this blend is from a single farm high in the mountains of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. It is owned and operated by the Vásquez family. Itiel Vásquez worked his way up while working in coffee and a stint in the United States and purchased a plot of land which he called La Inteligencia.