El Salvador Finca Los Planes Lote La Lagunita

Blind Assessment: Some difference emerged here between co-cupper Wendy De Jong (87) and Ken (89). The main divergence may have been owing to roast; Ken apparently tolerates lighter roasts more than Wendy does, who observes s “This super clean and bright coffee finished with a slight grainy note and thinness that could be addressed by more roasting experiments.” Ken, on the other hand, found pungent berry and tart cherry notes that for him reflected the fresh, pleasing flavor of the coffee fruit itself as framed by the lightish roast. There was some agreement, however: on the up side both Wendy and Ken praised the cleanly tart character, silky mouthfeel and solid finish; on the down both found some hints of fading in the green coffee.

Notes: A prize winner in the 2009 El Salvador Cup of Excellence (www.cupofexcellence.org) competition, where as a green (unroasted) coffee it placed thirtieth out of hundreds of entries, attracting a score of 84.28 from an international jury. Produced on the Los Planes farm from trees of the Bourbon variety at an elevation of approximately 5,300 feet by farmer Sergio Edmundo Ticas Reyes. With two locations in Arizona, Cartel Coffee Lab is a youthful coffee roasting company, with the belief in “uncompromising quality, extreme simplicity, global consciousness and local community.” Visit www.cartelcoffeelab.com or call 480-225-3899 for more information.

Who Should Drink It : Those who enjoy the tart cherry and pungent berry character of a lighter-roasted coffee of the Bourbon variety, though this 2009 harvest is discreetly showing its age.