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Overview
In 1890, Manuel Trujillo handed the farm down to his
daughter Sofia Trujillo de Pacas. Sofia handed it to her son, Alfredo Pacas
Trujillo, and this cycle was repeated, as his son, Ernesto Pacas Diaz and
his wife Blanca Estela inherited the farm. The Santa Sofia farm was once
part of a larger farm named “San Rafael”, on which the Pacas variety mutated
from Bourbon. Alberto Pacas Figueroa, Sofia’s husband, first noticed this
natural mutation.
Santa Sofía is the only farm in the Salvadoran auction
that has won the competition four times, beginning with 17th place in 2003,
climbing up to place 14th in 2004, 9th place in 2005 and reaching 4th place
this year. If you look the phrase "quality improvement" you should find
“Santa Sofia” as a definition. The Pacas family is very proud that their
hard work has been recognized once again, and these good vibes give them
an extra push to ensure quality.
The farm has been using a very small quantity of agrochemicals
for more than 10 years. Their use is reserved for cases when weed or pests
propagate more than usual, otherwise manual control and integrated pest
management is used. Shade trees are of a native species that are replanted
every year, although Ingas are also used for this purpose.
Santa Sofia earned the ISO 9001-2000 certification this
year. At the farm level, this certificate means a complete registry and
documentation of each activity perform, including several control points
and measures. As an example of this, they check harvest procedure such as
percentage of ripe beans, chemical usage and ecological standards.
From December through March up to 30 people help with
the harvest. From April though December 6 people maintained the coffee fields
performing cultural practices such as pruning, weed control, among others.
Santa Sofia’s coffee trees average 60 years old ranging from 90 to 6 years
old, and are planted in densities of 3,170 trees per hectare. This coffee
lot was processed under a semi washed method at Vivagua mill, property of
Pacas Martinez S.A. de C.V.
Other Statistics
Average Annual Rainfall: 3,265mm
Average Temperature: 18ºC
Type of Soil: Sandy-loam
Type of Shade: Ingas, Liquidambar, Chapultapa, Ujushte, among others
Annual Production: 270 bags (60kg)
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio Vivagua, Exportadora Pacas
Martinez S.A.
Latitude: N13º 52' 33.8" Longitude: W89º 36' 38.7"
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