Description
Farm Description
Finca Miravalle is owned by Luis Duarte, and is located in Apaneca, Ahuachapan, not too far from the Santa Ana volcano. Miravalle is about 1500 meters above sea level, and is only planted in Pacamara. It’s part of a much larger group of coffee plots, a few of them demarcated by cultivar separations, and the larger plots a mix of cultivars. Duarte has kept his farm planted in Bourbon and Pacamara for the most part, despite the susceptibility to leaf rust. Many farmers are replanting with disease resistant varietals, but Luis Duarte has chosen to continue with these cultivars because of the commonly held belief that they taste superior to most disease resistent hybrids available and manages to prevent leaf rust and fungal outbreaks with good farm practices (proper space between plants, regular pruning, cleaning beneath the trees, directive spraying, etc). Miravalle is only a few hectares in size, and is perched on the verdant slopes of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain region. This lot is the result of a new coffee project in the region by one of the local mills, their goal being to identify the top qualities from farmers they already buy coffee from. These coffees are then kept separate throughout the milling process, sold as an individual microlots as opposed to being lost to large blends.
Cupping Notes
City+ is a good starting point for this coffee where bittering cocoa and nut tones are matched by a well-developed sweetness and inky body. The dry fragrance has a sweet cereal grain smell, baking cocoa, and an aroma of toffee-coated nut is lifted in the steam. There’s an intersection of cocoa roast tones and brown sugar that will hold up to deeper roasting too, and actually intensifies with roast development. My lightest City roast had virtually no allusions to cocoa/chocolate in the cup (or sweetness for that matter), while Full City was dripping with chocolate flavors. In fact, to me, Full City is where this coffee shows the most well-rounded brew. As espresso, expect layers of cocoa and creamy nut flavors that make a lasting impression. An excellent option for milk drinks whether brewed coffee with cream, a latte, cappuccino and more.
