Next up in our showcase of our El Salvador Sourcing Trip Experience Host Sponsors is Divisadero Coffees, a Cup of Excellence-winning Salvadoran company run by fifth-generation coffee producer Mauricio A. “Moe” Salavarria.
Mauricio describes his company and its farms as “The Kingdom of Naturals”, an accurate title given his incredible work done to pioneer, improve, and ultimately perfect natural coffee processing in El Salvador.
Divisadero will be welcoming international visitors to its farms from March 12-15, 2023, after which they’ll head off to the two-day PRF El Salvador event at the Salamanca Exhibition Center in San Salvador.
Read on to learn more about Divisadero and what visitors can expect from the company.
Pursuing quality for over 140 years
Mauricio’s family settled in El Salvador’s Apaneca Mountains in the mid-19th century, establishing Finca Himalaya, their first farm, soon after.
In the years since, Divisadero has expanded to cover more farms, several of which have gone on to produce Cup of Excellence-winning specialty coffee lots under the guidance of Mauricio, his father and his grandfather.
Divisadero, meaning “vast views,” is now widely recognized as one of El Salvador’s leading specialty coffee producers and exporters. It supplies high-quality coffee to roasters in Australia, France, the USA, and Saudi Arabia, among others, and it boasts a 12-year direct trade relationship with Boxcar Coffees, based in Colorado, USA.
“El Salvador has a long history of producing some of the world’s best coffees, and slowly, our origin is being recognized for having the cleanest and best processing in the region for naturals and others,” Mauricio explains. “Our growers and exporters are the friendliest and most reliable to do business with, especially via direct trade.”
Mauricio adds that Divisadero Coffees is now a pioneer in the field of eco-friendly coffee processing, making it the perfect partner for modern specialty coffee roasters.
What can STE attendees expect from Divisadero Coffees?
Mauricio and his team are incredibly excited to welcome roasters and green coffee traders to their farms this coming March. He’s adamant that trips like the Sourcing Trip Experience are the best way to showcase the passion involved in producing excellent Salvadoran micro lots year in, year out.
“Consistency in quality is not easy to achieve, so we’re very proud to be a fifth-generation producer producing coffee since the 1870s,” he adds. “[By visiting our farms,] roasters can gain firsthand knowledge on just how difficult it really is to produce, process, and export these beautiful micro lots of specialty coffee.”
For Mauricio, the most valuable aspect of the Sourcing Trip Experience is its potential to nurture new partnerships and insightful discussions around El Salvador’s coffee producers and their industry.
“The most valuable part is the opportunity to meet firsthand at origin and discuss all the different angles of our specialty coffee industry and where it will move in the future – maybe aided by sharing a dinner of our world renowned pupusas and beer,” he says.
Some of the farms that attendees may visit include the Cup of Excellence-winning Himalaya, Villa Galicia, El Copo, and Cruz Gorda – all located in El Salvador’s mountainous west.
The Sourcing Trip Experience is meticulously curated to ensure that roasters from around the world are paired with leading Salvadoran specialty coffee producers.
Over the course of the experience, roasters will get the opportunity to speak with producers at length about Salvadoran coffee production, tour their farms and mills, and sample a range of different coffees.
Some example activities that you can expect during the STE include:
- Farm tours, which will cover a range of different varieties and producer profiles
- Tours of wet and dry mills, where participants will see optical sorting machinery, depulpers, fermentation tanks, and other key equipment in operation
- Cupping sessions arranged directly with producers
- Roundtable discussions on industry challenges from both producer and roaster perspectives
- Networking opportunities with potential sourcing partners and roasters from around the world
- Organized dinners with local specialities/dishes
“We look forward to meeting new coffee friends and showcasing our 100% shade grown Cup of Excellence-winning farms, eco-friendly processing, and overall top microlot offerings, which have made us a pioneer in the field,” Mauricio concludes.
If you’re interested in attending the Sourcing Trip Experience, buy a ticket here or email the STE Coordinator at tati@producerroasterforum.com.