El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas

Happy third day of autumn! I dressed for the season today, without checking the weather forecast, and I have to say that it’s a bit warm for leather boots and a knit dress. Oops. I do love fall, with its cool mornings that mean a cup of coffee warms your hands, but we might not be there yet. For sure the days are getting shorter: Caroline told me I must have woken her too early because it was too dark out. Sorry sleepy girl, but it will be dark in the morning for about six more months.

Learning about the native Maidu with ochre on her face.

I had a busy week on fieldwork with both of my kids: to the Roseville Maidu Museum and to the science lab at CSU Chico. The third graders learned about the local native Americans and how they lived (sooo different from the lives of today’s kids). It was interesting for me too, especially seeing the tools they used. The baskets are works of art, and I’m amazed at how nutritious acorns are.

This week our coffee is another from the Finca San Francisco in El Salvador. In July we featured the Laguna Las Ranas, or frog pond, from this grower (read about it here). This is another bean from the same farm, called Cerro Las Ranas, or mountain frogs. This farm is run by the Salaverria family, who also founded a mill, JASAL, to process their coffee.

Cerro Las Ranas is Rainforest Certified coffee, and it is a pulped natural process. This is also called a honey coffee, and it is a cross between a washed and a dry processed (natural) coffee. Some of the skin of the coffee cherry is removed, but then the beans are dried with the pulp intact. This certainly affects the taste of the final product, usually leaving a sweeter and fruitier taste.

This El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas does have those fruity tones: it is roasted light and tastes of stone fruit, like apricots and plums, with a sweet finish. If you loved the Laguna Las Ranas from the same farm, you’ll certainly love this option. They are processed similarly, have similar cupping notes, and both are smooth and easy to drink.

You can try a cup of this El Salvador on us this week with the code mountain frogs*. Enjoy the last weekend of September, and drink good coffee. Cheers!
–Holly Fike

*Code good for one free 12 ounce cup of El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas. Code expires on 10.1.15. Limit one free cup per customer please. Valid only at Carolines Coffee Roasters, 128 S. Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA. Code/Offer has no cash value.