Overview

Back in 1870, Epifanio Silva decided to conquer this hostile territory, sowing coffee trees in one of the highest summits of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range. They named Siberia, the 28 hectares of land, for its chaotic weather conditions, along with its difficult accessibility. One century later Rafael Silva Hoff inherited the property.

Rafael, a fourth generation of coffee growers from this area, considers himself lucky because he has never had big problems working the plantation. In the edition of COE 2005, Siberia got the 6th place with a lot of Pacamara variety. In COE 2007, this time with a lot of Bourbon variety, Siberia ranked in 23rd. This year, with a Pacamara lot, Siberia ranked 27th place. This variety is grown in approximately 15% of the Siberia farm and it got into the group of winners once again. Siberia is considered a privileged farm after consistently winning these awards, plus gaining recognition in markets around the USA and Europe.

His ecological awareness has allowed him to put in place innovative ways to produce organic matter for fertilization. He owns a massive production of earthworms to process the coffee pulp to create “lombricompost” that he uses to fertilize the trees. The farm has colonial practices to take care of the soils. It has natural wind and erosion barriers, and each year they use less chemical fertilizers.

Additional information
Location: Cantón El Ojo de Agua y Duraznillo, Chalchuapa
Coffee Varieties: Pacamara & Bourbon
Type of Shade: Ingas Sp: Pepeto, gravileo, cedar, cypress and others
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,600 mm
Average Temperature: 20º C
Type of Soil: Clayish loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 700 bags
Mill and company where lot was processed: Beneficio El Borbollón, El Borbollón, S.A. de C.V.
Fauna: Armadillo, opossum, squirrel, deer, rabbit, baltimore oriole, etc.

GPS coordinates
Latitude: N 13º 54’ 38.6”
Longitude: W 89º 42’ 27.3”