Shade grown
Large forest trees shelter the much smaller coffee trees beneath them. The shade slows ripening and deepens flavor — and it keeps a real forest standing.
Family-owned · Over a century of coffee
Coffee grown beneath the forest.
Finca Santa Rosa is a family-owned coffee farm nestled in the foothills of the rugged north of El Salvador. For over a hundred years we have grown high-quality coffee by traditional methods that conserve the native biodiversity around us.
Take a few moments to visit with us, meet our family, and see how we work with nature to bring the best quality coffee to your cup.
How we farm
Natural process
Cherries are dried whole on terracotta patios for around two weeks, then shelled. The sweetness of the fruit infuses the bean, and no waste water is produced.
No pesticides
No pesticides or artificial fertilizers, ever. The farm is the source of streams and springs used by local people, and we intend to keep them clean.
Bourbon trees
Over 95% of our coffee is Bourbon, the oldest variety in Latin America and the one most sought out by connoisseurs. Many of our trees are decades old.
- Size
- 47 acres
- Variety
- 95%+ Bourbon
- Process
- Natural, sun-dried
- Harvest
- October – January
- Location
- Ilobasco, Cabañas
A forest first, a farm second
Only about 6% of El Salvador remains forested — and much of what survives stands on coffee farms. Finca Santa Rosa is unusual even among shade-coffee farms: our forest cover was established over a century ago and has been maintained ever since, at a density so high that in places very little light reaches the forest floor.
The result is a great profusion of wild plants and animals. We are particularly proud of our orchids and butterflies, which are more diverse here than anywhere else nearby.
Questions about the farm?
We are glad to hear from anyone interested in the farm, the forest or the coffee.