I arrived at our family farm in El Salvador just as the coffee trees were flowering.
After weeks of dry weather, we had received our first showers of the year—about 6 mm of rain, according to our farm notes. White flowers had opened across parts of the farm. Bees were moving through them, butterflies passed between the trees, and the air had a scent that reminded me of jasmine.
I was lucky to be there at the right moment. Coffee flowering does not wait for me to book a convenient flight from Calgary.
If you are new to this series, I am following a year in the life of our coffee, from the decisions we make at Finca Argentina to the beans we eventually roast at Crickle Creek. In Episode II, I shared our pruning and planning after harvest. This visit showed me how quickly the farm can change when the first rain arrives.
What makes coffee trees flower?
At our farm, flowering follows a dry period. Flower buds develop on the trees, and rain after that dry spell can help trigger them to open. That is why the first showers are such a moment to watch.
The 6 mm we recorded in March 2023 brought a partial bloom. From what I saw, I expected another flowering if more rain arrived. I could not tell you the size of the coming harvest from that first display of flowers alone. The weather and the trees still had much more to say.
Coffee flowers are also brief. Their scent and the activity around them make a farm feel completely different for a little while. I wish I could put that part of the visit in a bag and send it with your coffee.
What happens after the flowers?
The flowers are an early step toward coffee cherries. After successful flowering and fruit development, the cherries need months to mature before harvest. Rainfall, plant health and farm care during that time all matter.
That is why a beautiful bloom is exciting, but it does not mean the farmer’s work is done. While I was enjoying the view, our team had been busy caring for the trees.
What is bokashi, and why do we make it at the farm?
One of our jobs that month was applying bokashi around young trees. Bokashi is a fermented organic soil amendment. At Finca Argentina, the mixture we prepared included materials such as coffee pulp, chicken litter, molasses, biochar, mineral rock dust and locally sourced microorganisms.
That March, the team applied roughly three pounds per young tree, according to my notes. We were producing around three to four tonnes of bokashi a year at the time, although making and moving more of it presented a logistical challenge.
I like this practice because it puts material from coffee production, including coffee pulp, back to work on the farm. We had been using bokashi for about eight years by that visit and believed it was contributing positively to the way we cared for our soil and trees. I would be careful, though, about claiming that bokashi alone caused an improvement in cup quality. Soil, weather, tree health, harvest and processing all play a part.
The team was also applying a foliar treatment as part of that season’s plant-care plan. What a farm applies, and when, should respond to its own conditions; this is a record of what we did in March 2023, rather than instructions for another farmer. Research supports using properly prepared coffee by-products in soil amendments, but it does not establish a guaranteed flavour result from our particular mixture.
Why were we marking lines for new trees?
Another part of the farm needed replanting. Two members of our team were marking the contours and staking out where new coffee trees would go. Once they had finished the layout, the next step was digging the planting holes.
A farm is not static. Some areas are flowering; others need renovation. Both require decisions made long before there is a cherry ready to pick.
On this visit, most of the trees I saw appeared to be handling the dry season well, with plenty of leaves and healthy-looking green foliage. That was encouraging, especially while we waited to see what more rain—and possibly another bloom—would bring.
Why does a barista champion visit a coffee farm?
One of the pleasures of this trip was finally showing the farm to my friends Dale Harris and Roland Glew, whom I met through our coffee relationships in the UK.
I met Dale in 2015, when he competed in the UK Barista Championship using coffee from our farm. He finished second that year and later won the 2017 World Barista Championship. Yes, there really is a world championship for baristas. It is a remarkable mix of coffee knowledge, preparation and presentation—and more entertaining to watch than you might expect. Dale’s 2015 placing and 2017 world title are documented independently.
Years after we met, we finally got to walk Finca Argentina together. We also cupped coffees from the recent harvest. That is one of my favourite moments: tasting what the team has grown and processed, then talking about what each lot might become once a roaster gets hold of it.
At the time, I hoped we would bring some of those coffees to Crickle Creek later that year. That was a 2023 plan, not a promise that those particular lots are for sale today. If you would like to taste a coffee from our family farm now, take a look at our El Salvador Bourbon and check its current availability.
Finally, I was glad I got a chance to catch up with some good friends during
the trip. We coordinated to meet with Dale Harris and Roland Glew from
Ozone Coffee / Hasbean Coffee in the U.K. Ozone purchases all the
coffee from the farm, except for the small micro-lots that we bring to
Canada.
Dale and I met a while back in 2015 when he competed in the UK
Barista competition with our farm’s coffee. Unfortunately, he finished
second that year but we have been good friends ever since. Two years
later, Dale went on to win the World Barista Championship in 2017.
After a long overdue trip to El Salvador, we finally managed to visit the farm
together, cup some amazing coffee from the most recent harvest (October to March) and have a great time. I am glad to report that there are some amazing-tasting coffees that we expect to get for Crickle Creek in September/October.
The flowers were what first caught my attention that March. By the time I left, I was thinking about the people tending young trees, marking out new rows, preparing the soil and tasting the harvest that had just finished.
That is what I want to share through this series. The journey from seed to cup has its beautiful moments. It also has a great deal of careful work between them.
Until the next visit,
Alejandro