As people travel from El Salvador to Guatemala, views of vast swathes of trees and farms pass by. Just off the side of the freeway sits Finca El Hato, a delicate and beautiful farm nestled in the hills.

Verena de Rasch owns El Hato and has utilized her love of trees and exotic plants to surround the coffee trees with a native jungle of plants. El Hato’s high elevations allow for rich biodiversity, and a great variety of birds flutter through the many different trees.

Though the farm was established 84 years ago, it experienced the recent devastation of Coffee Leaf Rust in 2018, when roughly 60% of the farm’s crop was lost to the disease. In order to combat the spreading Coffee Leaf Rust, the Rasch family began planting resistant varietals, and filled the fields with over 200,000 new trees.

Nurseries reveal the intricate organization of El Hato and its plans for future cultivation areas with more resistant and climate acclimated varietals. The coffee saplings are delicately cared for with monitored irrigation systems and proper soil health.

The main varietals planted now are Icatú, Castillo and Bourbon, but new varietals are being tried and tested to evaluate the trees’ reaction to Coffee Leaf Rust, and its overall cup quality. After the handpicking of the cherries, the coffee is transported to the mill onsite to be washed, de-pulped, and sorted by grade.

The coffee is then fermented in tanks of water to break down the exterior mucilage. Afterwards, the coffee is evenly dispersed on concrete patios to dry in the open sun. In some cases, the coffee is dried in greenhouses for a more controlled drying process.