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El Cerro

El Salvador - Ahuachapan - Fernando E - El Cerro - Anacafe - Natural

CROP 2025/2026 See coffee details

SCA score85

Aromatic notes

berrybergamotmilk chocolatebrown sugarvegetalcereal

Available on sample request (69kg)

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History and traceability

The story

Who he is: Fifth-generation coffee producer based in Apaneca, at 1,500 masl in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range. A highly professional producer with deep expertise in experimental processing — in 2026 he placed 3rd in the Cup of Excellence Experimental Processing category, a recognition that reflects years of deliberate work with complex and innovative processes.

Brief history: Finca El Cerro has been in the family for five generations, surrounded by native forest that creates the ideal microclimate for exceptional quality coffee. In recent years, Fernando took the farm a step further by building full vertical integration: from cultivation and harvest to processing, quality control, and export — all handled in-house. The farm covers 32 manzanas under native forest shade (bajo bosque), with varieties including Bourbon, Gesha, Pacamara, and Pacas, harvested between December and March.

What makes him singular:

Proven mastery of experimental processing: his 3rd place at Cup of Excellence Experimental Processing 2026 is not a debut — it is the result of sustained, serious work with anaerobic fermentation and complex processes.
Full vertical integration: complete control from cherry to export, which guarantees traceability and consistency lot by lot.
Five generations of commitment to the land, combined with a forward-looking producer who is not afraid to push boundaries.

Relationship with Belco: We have been working together since the 2022 harvest. Over the years we have purchased both micro-lots and some volume from the farm.

Shared values with Belco:

Excellence and continuous improvement — Fernando is always pushing the quality bar higher.
Full traceability and transparency: vertical integration means there are no gaps in the chain.
Respect for the land: native forest shade, five generations of stewardship.

El Cerro is a farm located on the Apaneca llamatepec mountain range, near the town of Apaneca. The altitude of El Cerro is ideal for producing excellent speciality coffees. It has been in the family of Fernando "Leto" Escobar for 5 generations.

12 people work at El Cerro all year round. At harvest time, around thirty seasonal workers join them to pick the cherries by hand and process them at the El Cerro wetmill.

Although the entire farm is dedicated to coffee production, it is surrounded by a dense forest with a rich biodiversity. The coffee trees grow under the shade of indigenous trees

that were there long before the farm was built. This forest provides plenty of moisture and nutrients to the soil, generating compost whose nutrients are carried to the foot of the coffee trees by the rain.

Why we selected it:

Anacafé is a variety Fernando knows how to process exceptionally well — and it shows in the cup.
Natural process with a very distinctive and well-balanced profile: chocolate, molasses, raspberry, and strawberry, all in harmony.

Q-Grader tasting notes:

What I loved: The balance between the chocolate and molasses base and the raspberry and strawberry notes — rich and fruit-forward at the same time.
Must-try because: Anacafé in natural process, in the hands of a producer who truly knows the variety, delivers a cup that is distinctive, complex, and immediately appealing.
What makes it special: Fernando's mastery of Anacafé as a variety + natural process = a cup with a clear and recognizable identity.