El Salvador Las Mercedes La Montaña SL28

We’re thrilled to announce that La Montaña SL28 is back for the season! Grown on the La Montaña Lot at Las Mercedes—a farm we absolutely love for its consistently complex and balanced coffees—this washed SL28 is something special.

In the cup, you'll find a lively mix of sweet and tart green apple, refreshing green tea-like herbs, and zesty lemon citrus. It all comes together with juicy hints of pomegranate and green grape, wrapped up in a smooth touch of brown sugar. Trust us, this one’s a treat you won’t want to miss.

We at Klatch Coffee were drawn to Las Mercedes because of its great coffee, but we found what we fell in love with was the people, the process, and our shared passion for persistently striving to make coffee the best it can be. The Las Mercedes farm process begins with hand picking only ripe, mature cherries, and then carefully screening them before depulping to eliminate twigs, leaves, and other foreign material. At the wet mill, the cherries are received into ceramic tiled ditches, washed with fresh collected rainwater, and immediately fed into a pulper. These pulpers are designed to separate the bean from the flesh of the fruit while leaving each bean intact in its parchment envelope.

History of Scott Agricultural Laboratories

Established in 1922 by the British colonial government, Scott Agricultural Laboratories became a key center for coffee research in East Africa. Housed in buildings formerly used as a WWI hospital and named after missionary Dr. Henry Scott, the labs hosted agronomists, mycologists, and breeders. The Coffee Section moved there in 1934 and focused on variety trials, grafting, and shade studies. In 1949, Kenya relocated coffee research to a larger station at Jacaranda Estates, with additional substations established in subsequent years across the country.

Coffee Review - Nov. 2008 - 92 points:
Deep floral and sweet citrus aroma with hints of toast. Well-integrated acidity, with medium body and a silky mouthfeel. Complex yet delicate flavor notes include cherry, citrus, flowers and muted nut, with a long syrupy sweet finish.

Coffee Review - Nov. 2008 - 92 points:  El Salvador La Montaña SL28

From the award-winning, family-owned, and women-led Finca Las Mercedes, nestled in Cerro El Tigre, El Salvador—crafting exceptional coffee since 1886.

Coffee Review - Nov. 2008 - 92 points
Cup of Excellence 2006 - 1st Place
Cup of Excellence 2009 - 6th Place
Best of Origin 2016 - Top 10

As part of Klatch Coffee’s direct trade partnership, 25 cents of every pound of this coffee sold goes to support community sports programs and medical clinics in the Las Mercedes community. Finca Las Mercedes is a beautiful coffee farm with owners dedicated to care for their community, their workers, and the environment with the same care that they invest into their coffee. The Ortiz family provides healthcare, food, and clothing to those in the community that are in need. Las Mercedes is committed to ecological care, making efforts to preserve natural wildlife, to maintain compliance with our certifications in the way that the mill’s by-products are disposed of, and to avoid contamination. In the last few years, the Ortiz family has prioritized preservation by planting native trees.

The coffee is processed right after being picked, it is sent directly to the wash ditches and the pulp is completely removed. Once the pulp is removed and the coffee is washed it is placed on the patio to dry until it reaches a humidity level between 11.5% and 12%.

Las Mercedes represents the maximum expression of a great coffee that has always been cared for with dedication and perseverance for five generations in the Ortiz family. Only mature cherries with perfect ripeness are allowed. The cherries are subjected to screening before pulping to eliminate twigs, leaves, and other foreign material; also to separate the floaters from the bulk.

Las Mercedes mill uses the wet process which means that the fresh ripe cherries are received immediately after they have been harvested. The cherries are received at the ceramic tiled ditches, washed with collected fresh rainwater from our tanks, and immediately fed into a pulper which consists of rotating disks and cylinders, each one fitted with adjustable knives. These are designed to separate the bean from the flesh of the fruit while leaving each bean intact in its parchment envelope. 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 14 to 24 days in the clay patios, depending on the amount of sun the patios received and on the weather. In order to avoid uneven drying and cracking of the parchment, we stir the thinly spread coffee at regular intervals.