Amilcar Vega, husband of Anna Elaine, gave to his wife this marvelous farm overlooking the colorful town of Chalchuapa as a gift. The town is very famous in El Salvador as it is where the Tazumal Mayan ruins are. This farm is located in one of the most important coffee regions of the country, the Apaneca- Ilamatepec mountain range. El Jocotillo is grown only with Bourbon variety, and Amilcar keeps some trees planted by his grandfather that are over 100 years old. This coffee forest has been renovating itself over the years from the very same genetic base that came from that original strain.

The farm altitude ranges between the 1,200-1,550 masl, but this particular lot was selected from “Tablón 2” at an altitude around 1,450 masl, during one week, grown under a canopy of shade trees that include local varieties of Ingas like “Pepeto de rio”, “cuje”, and fruit trees such as “Jocote corona”, thus the name of the farm which means “Small Jocote”. Amilcar and Anna Elaine strongly believe in preserving the forest of “Cerro el Cachío” which explains why they have over 150 shade trees per hectare and in so doing they also preserve the habitat for local fauna. There are lots of small mammals living amongst this hill: deer, armadillos, possums and snakes live in harmony within the coffee plantation.

Amilcar pays over the legal minimum wage to get only the most experienced people from the area. He has 8 people working for him on a regular basis, and during harvest time (mid December- mid February) he employed more than 50 people to select the specific lot for CoE. Amilcar was extremely careful this year to select the best cherries and he applied all the knowledge gained at the El Salvador School of Coffee, a permanent educational facility at the Salvadoran Coffee Council, regarding best coffee practices.

“El Jocotillo” won 9th place in 2008 Cup of Excellence, it was also its first appearance, this year it came in second place demonstrating once again all the hard work trough generations, unique microclimatic factors including type of soil, altitude, and rainfall combined with artisan cultural practices performed by this family. El Jocotillo is shade grown, and runs under the Rainforest Alliance practices. The milling process is also considered very important to maintain quality from the field.

Additional information:
Coffee varieties: Bourbon
Type of Shade: Ingas, Cuje, Pepeto, Aguacate, Jocote Corona, Orange and Lime Trees, etc.
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,300 mm
Average Temperature: 21º C
Type of Soil: Clay loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 280 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: Cooperativa Cuzcachapa de R.L.
Other crops: Aguacate, Jocote Corona, Lime, Orange
Fauna: Deer, Armadillos, Cotuza or Central American Agouti, opossum, eagle, Snakes, Birds: Torogoz, Sparrowhawk. Etc.

GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 13º 55’ 07.7’’ N
Longitude: 89º 40’ 53.7’’ W