This coffee comes from our longtime partners and dear friends, the Ariz Family, whose work has helped shape our relationship with El Salvador for more than a decade. Ricardo Ariz oversees farming across the family’s three small farms, including El Aguila, Los Charras, and El Amel. His son Marco manages processing at El Amel, home to the family’s restored mill, Fenix, a once-forgotten site revived into a hub for innovation and quality.
El Salvador remains a rare stronghold for heirloom coffee varieties such as Bourbon, Pacas, and Pacamara, preserved through decades of slower industrial change. The Ariz Family builds on this legacy while pushing boundaries through meticulous processing. Marco, an Expert Q Processor, applies advanced fermentation techniques to elevate each micro lot.
This anaerobic natural lot reflects that spirit of experimentation and partnership. Grown from Ethiopian seeds introduced by Oliver Stormshak (sourced from Arusi Banko in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia) and carefully fermented in oxygen-limited conditions, the result is a coffee that honors El Salvador’s heritage while expressing a distinctly modern and expressive profile.
