Los Naranjos, El Salvador | Carbonic Maceration

All coffee grown on the farm Los Naranjos are grown in shade managed forests.

Shade Management:

The farms are part of the considered coffee forest, maintained under regulated shade with native species, ingas, and forest species. These species contribute constant organic matter to the soil, incorporate nitrogen through the ingas, release oxygen into the environment, and capture carbon dioxide (CO2), reducing the carbon footprint. These species create a unique microclimate that fosters interaction between the surrounding flora and fauna. They act as a temperature and soil moisture regulator, enhancing natural and ecological water harvesting during the rainy season and reducing runoff and soil erosion. In summer, they reduce soil and plant temperatures by up to 25%. Additionally, they have species that provide wind protection for the coffee crop, acting as windbreak barriers on all farms to safeguard and protect the plants.

Tissue Management (Pruning):

Fincas Los Naranjos cultivates high-value coffee varieties with highly appreciated cup qualities. They are committed to providing the best care to achieve a balance between harvest and vegetative management. A coffee tree can have a prolonged productive life with an appropriate tissue renewal plan. Pruning is crucial, enabling constant tissue regeneration to keep the plant active and productive. The company aims to reduce biennial bearing and treat each plant as a productive unit. Various pruning types are implemented based on technical criteria: previous year's production, plantation age, variety, terrain topography, and vegetative development. Pruning practices such as topping, cutting back, skirting, hedge trimming, and thinning are used individually or in combination, depending on each plant's needs.

Weed Control:

Since its founding, Fincas Los Naranjos has committed to minimising environmental and ecosystem impact, which is why herbicides are not used for weed control. Instead, weeds are managed manually, resulting in numerous benefits:

- No herbicide use, preventing soil and applicator contamination.

- Avoiding herbicide resistance.

- Increased labour.

- Balanced flora and fauna in the environment and soil.

- Greater presence of beneficial weeds, among others.

Soil and Foliar Fertilisation

Their nutritional programme is based on soil and foliar analysis, which serve as the starting point for determining the nutrient needs of the crops. Four soil fertilisations and five foliar applications are conducted annually, applying up to 16 ounces per plant, depending on soil analysis results.

Social and Environmental Responsibility

To meet their activities and address labour shortages, Fincas Los Naranjos has implemented alternatives to incentivise their agricultural staff:

- Job Stability: They strive to provide their staff with a safe and stable workplace, offering employment during both the rainy and harvest seasons.

- Increased Farm Wages: Daily wages have been increased by 10% to ensure adequate staffing.

- Free Transport: Free transport is provided in farms with restricted access, during both winter work and harvest.

- No Logging or Hunting Policies: Strict no-logging and no-hunting policies are enforced within the farms.

- No Herbicide Use: A strict no-herbicide policy is maintained.

- Integrated Pest and Disease Management: Sampling and constant supervision are utilised.

- Use of Less Harmful Agricultural Inputs: All inputs used are green-labelled.

Reception

The truck arrives from the farm and enters the weighbridge, designed to weigh trucks from the benefit centre with a capacity of 50,000 pounds. The initial weight is recorded against the farm's dispatch to begin the yield process.

1. Step One: The driver provides their details and deliveries to the reception staff. The weight is recorded once all individuals have disembarked from the transport.

2. Step Two: The reception staff takes a sample from each sack to analyse the maturity level.

3. Step Three: The truck leaves the weighbridge and deposits the coffee cherries in the reception piles. A designated person identifies the cherries by farm and variety.

4. Step Four: The truck returns to the weighbridge to record the weight again, ensuring the net weight of the coffee cherries is determined.

5. Step Five: With all data collected, the net weight and maturity level of the coffee cherries are registered in the system.

Cherry Classification

Upon arrival at the benefit centre, a sample is taken from each sack transported from the farm to analyse the maturity level. This analysis helps in deciding how to process the coffee, based on different categories. A 500-gram sample is weighed and separated into optimal beans, pink beans, green beans, overripe beans, and immature beans. The percentages for each category are then calculated, resulting in the following classifications:

- C: Coffee with less than 50% optimal maturity, Brix degree below 15.

- B: Coffee with 51% - 65% optimal maturity, Brix degree above 15.

- A: Coffee with 66% - 80% optimal maturity, Brix degree above 15.

- AA: Coffee with 81% - 90% optimal maturity, Brix degree above 15.

- AAA: Coffee with 91% - 100% optimal maturity, Brix degree above 20.

Process Definition

The process is defined based on the maturity classification and the variety to be processed. This ensures that the process yields excellent results in cupping, leveraging all the characteristics of the variety and process. Client requests also influence the process definition. To perform an anaerobic process, a cherry classification in category "A" with a Brix above 18 is required.

Type of Process: Carbonic Maceration Natural

Process Procedure

1. Step One: Begin with flotation to remove empty beans and overripe beans that could accelerate fermentation and produce alcoholic and phenolic flavours.

2. Step Two: Collect the best quality cherries in polypropylene sacks and subsequently weigh the coffee to deposit it in the fermentation tanks, each tank holding 400 pounds of cherries.

3. Step Three: Once the best quality cherries are deposited in the tanks, CO2 injection begins. An initial amount of 20 PSI is applied for 5 minutes to each tank, with the aim of freezing the cherries and stopping the fermentation process. This CO2 application is repeated every 3 hours, 20 PSI for 5 minutes, over 72 hours.

4. Step Four: After 24 hours, pH and Brix degrees are measured. The pH remains at 6 degrees, and the Brix drops to 1 degree.

5. Step Five: After 48 hours, pH and Brix degrees are measured again. The pH drops slightly to 5.15 degrees, and the Brix increases to 8 degrees.

6. Step Six: After 72 hours, the pH drops to 4.42 degrees, and the Brix increases to 14 degrees.

7. Step Seven: After 96 hours, the pH drops to 4.02 degrees, and the Brix increases to 18 degrees, indicating the coffee is ready to be removed from the fermentation tanks.

Drying Procedure

1. Step One: Transfer the coffee from the fermentation area to the pre-drying area (patios). The goal is to immediately reduce the excess water content and stop fermentation. The coffee stays in this stage for 3-5 days, depending on the amount of sunlight.

2. Step Two: Collect the pre-dried coffee in polypropylene sacks and weigh them at the reception scale. Then, transfer the sacks to African beds for further drying. Initially placed on the lower level, the coffee rests for 3-5 days, reducing humidity to 20%.

3. Step Three: Move the coffee from the lower to the upper level of the African beds, as the drying system consists of two levels. The coffee begins its final drying process, staying for 8-10 days depending on sunlight, until reaching 10% humidity.

Storage

When the coffee reaches 10% humidity, it is collected in polypropylene sacks with a GrainPro bag inside to preserve quality and prevent rehydration, thus avoiding potential cup defects.

The following day, a 300-gram sample is taken from each sack to analyse quality before stacking the coffee by farm, variety, and process. After quality classification, the sacks are sealed and stacked on wooden pallets, covered with hessian sacks and using dehumidifiers to ensure proper storage and prevent cup defects.