El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas RFA

On Wednesday of this week I went up to the Castle Peak area to learn how to build an igloo. My son’s class is going to build and sleep in igloos as part of their winter adventure, and this was a parent training. I had some trepidation getting ready for the day, since it looked like it might be raining on the summit, ugh, but by the time we arrived a beautiful light snow was falling. We got to snowshoe on fresh powder and enjoy the white blanket coating the trees.

Enjoying the sun last weekend with a bike ride

I had no idea what building an igloo would entail. It turns out there is equipment for building igloos (see here), and these tools made the process fairly simple. I think that all the parents enjoyed the learning and the construction. Before our time was up we had half an igloo put together. I’m sure the speed of building will be different with fifth graders, but I’m confident they will succeed.

I had a thermos of coffee with me for our trip, and it was a treat to drink as we hiked out. This week we’ve got a coffee treat for you: our El Salvador Cerro las Ranas Rainforest Alliance. Cerro las ranas means mountain frogs. At the top of this farm, Finca San Francisco, there is a pond full of frogs: thus the name. This coffee is grown and processed by the Salaverria family, and is Rainforest Alliance certified. Rainforest Alliance beans “grow in harmony with nature,” more the way coffee was traditionally farmed.

This is a pulped natural, or honey, coffee. This process is in between the wet and the dry process. In a wet processed, or washed coffee, the fruit is removed (washed) before drying. In the dry, or natural, process, the beans are dried with the fruit still intact. In a honey coffee, some of the fruit is removed (or pulped) before drying, but the beans are left with the mucilage intact. Honeyed coffees are appropriately named, since the remaining fruit gives an especially sweet taste to the coffee. This process is also called semi-washed.

The Salaverria family has established a business processing coffee called JASAL. You can explore their operation and their coffees on the website here. The quality of the coffee is evident as you browse their site. We have roasted this Cerro las Ranas light, and it has the sweet fruity profile you would expect from a honey coffee. It’s creamy and flavorful with a lingering milk chocolate taste.

You can try a cup of this coffee on us this week with the code igloo day*. I hear our sunshine will be returning soon, and although we still need the rain, I look forward to the outdoor opportunities. I hope that you have a great weekend, and drink good coffee. Cheers!
–Holly Fike

*Code good for one free 12 ounce cup of El Salvador Cerro las Ranas RFA. Code expires on 2.25.16. 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.