Montecarlos, El Salvador

Montecarlos is a spectacular farm, covering the entire circumference of a dormant volcano, nestled in a chain of volcanic cones. On one side is the Pacific ocean and on the other the central plateau bringing warm winds up the northern slopes. This is a pure coffee with a light orange accent. Montecarlos Estate is owned and run by Carlos Batres and his wife, Julie. The couple were both educated in the US and have lived in metropolitan areas like D.C. and New York, as well as London, where Batres represented El Salvador at the International Coffee Organization before moving back to El Salvador. The farm has been handed down to family members for five generations, and in the mid-1980s, Batres inherited a slice of the land and has continued to expand it over the years, acquiring more land from neighbors (mostly relatives). He has now accrued at least 40 years working within the coffee industry. Montecarlos became the first estate in the world to grow and develop the Pacamara variety of cof