La Avila - El Salvador 2009 Verified listing

Overview

La Avila is a small farm inside a big one, since La Avila is inside Finca Las Mercedes (2006 CoE 1st place winner). Bought by Mr. Adrian Ortiz in the 50’s as a present for his two sons Roberto and Ricardo, this farm was owned by the Avila family and was always surrounded by Las Mercedes. So finally by 1950 they decided to sell and Adrian Ortiz a visionary man decided to buy it La Avila nowadays is owned by Ortiz Barriere S.A. de C.V., which is a family business that also owns finca Las Mercedes and has been producing coffee since 1886. La Avila has always been a jewel for Las Mercedes Farm, not only because it’s has the farmland with the highest altitude, but also for its high production yield and excellent cup. The coffee from La Avila is processed in the family mill; the cherries are received at the ceramic tiled ditches, washed with fresh collected rainwater from our tanks and immediately fed into a pulper. The pulp is eliminated with the collected rainwater of the tanks and the parchment is collected in the washing channels. Finally, it is sun dried to perfection in clay patios surrounded by beautiful landscapes. The drying of the beans takes from 8 to 12 days in the clay patios it will depends on the amount of sun the patios received and on the weather. La Avila is always producing high quality coffee under sustainable conditions and traceability, which have been endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance certification to confirm their commitment with their people and the protection of natural resources. The community is also benefited from various social projects funded by this company such as: monthly food relief for an elderly home, building, furnishing, and supplying the community school, support to the communities soccer team and donations to the Red Cross. Likewise and most importantly, they provide medical care to workers, as well as a quarterly reward of food supplies and clothing, as acknowledgement for their hard work and commitment to the farm. The family is constantly making efforts to preserve natural wild life by taking special care of the disposal of by-products from the mill in order to avoid contamination also, in compliance with RA certification, chemical and pesticides are carefully store and managed by trained personnel, avoiding intoxications and contaminations. In the past years, a great effort has been made in planting native trees to preserve these species, as well as helping fauna that depends on them.

Additional information

Location: Canton El Tigre, Santiago de Maria
Coffee varieties: Bourbón
Type of Shade: Native Species such as mezcal, granadillo, guarlos and Ingas Sp.
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,400 mm
Average Temperature: 22º C
Type of Soil: Clay loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 215 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio Las Mercedes
Fauna: Deer, rabbit, armadillo, torogoz, different kinds of snakes, etc.

GPS Coordinates:

Latitude: N 13º 28.0’ 6.15
Longitude: W 88º 26.0’ 3.76