Coffee Advent Calendar Day 17 - El Salvador, Icatu

Coffee Advent Calendar: Finca Argentina, Icatu

NOTES: Red Grapes, Butter

ROAST: Medium

Finca Argentina is our family’s 70-acre farm in the Apaneca region of El Salvador—historically the first area in the country where coffee was introduced more than 175 years ago. Today, Apaneca remains El Salvador’s most important coffee-growing region, defined by rich volcanic soil, ideal altitude, and a climate that produces delicate, complex, and beautifully balanced coffees.

Because we manage our own farm, we’re able to reserve some of our best nano-lots each year to share with our customers. This lot consists exclusively of red and yellow Icatu cultivars. Developed in Brazil, Icatu is a high-yielding, disease-resistant variety with some Robusta ancestry, placing it in the arabusta family. We began testing Icatu on our farm in 2013 and discovered it thrives under heat, drought, and low-fertility conditions. One particularly challenging clay-heavy plot that struggled with traditional Bourbon cultivars has performed exceptionally with Icatu, producing consistently excellent coffee.