Criolla

THE PRODUCER

Andrés Salaverría has been passionate about coffee growing since he was a child. His family has been involved in it for over 100 years, with farms in the coffee-growing regions of Atiquizaya, Concepción de Ataco, Jayúa and Apaneca. Andrés remembers how he enjoyed spending every night with his father at the El Molino mill to see how the coffee cherries arrived. Since then, his interest has grown. Every summer he worked temporary jobs at the family coffee business with the aim of learning and implementing new knowledge. After finishing university, he completed the Ernesto Illy Master’s degree in coffee science and economics. In 2011, Andrés returned to El Salvador and, together with his father, Don José Antonio Salaverría, they have formed a great team. Among the farms that the Salaverría family manages is the San Francisco farm, located near the town of La Majada, in the coffee-growing region of Apaneca – Ilamatepec, in the Juayúa district. This farm is home not only to a coffee-producing region, but also to a natural forest reserve that was donated to the National Forestry Association of El Salvador for the purpose of preserving a beautiful habitat for many exotic species of plants and animals. Its rich volcanic soils make San Francisco an ideal location for coffee cultivation, which is done entirely in the shade, with harvesting activities through selective manual collection of fully ripe cherries.