OUR OFFERINGS - BLACK CAT, SINGLE ORIGIN ESPRESSO: FINCA MATALAPA, EL SALVADOR - USBC 1ST PLACE

Location:  La Libertad
Varietal:  Bourbon, Pacas
Altitude:  1250 m
Harvest:  December - March

Characteristics

Acidity:  Bursting lime and Clementine
Flavor:  Maple, pipe tobacco
Finish:  Clean, sweet, citric

Tasting Notes

I first encountered this coffee on the cupping table and knew it would make a great espresso. It was clean and sweet, with an undeniable maple character. The Finca Matalapa truly delivers as espresso what it promises in the cup. Using about 18g of coffee for a double shot, it reveals sweet floral aromatics and intense lime acidity underscored by notes of dark muscovado sugar.  Its intense sweetness and balance are the fuel that propelled me to victory at the 2008 United States Barista Championship. I hope you enjoy this coffee as much as I have enjoyed using it. It’s a gem.

Kyle's Notes

The United States Barista Championship is a great opportunity to try new things with coffee. This year I knew I really wanted to use a Single Origin Espresso but knew that this would present a challenge. Finding coffees that perform really well on their own as espresso is no easy task.

The arrival of the Finca Matalapa at Intelligentsia was perfectly timed. When I first tasted this coffee, I was struck by how well the maple character paired with the vibrant and juicy acidity. It seemed this coffee had potential to work well as an espresso.

The USBC was very intense and I was struck at how many Baristas turned in dynamite performances. At such a high level of competition, Baristas live and die by their coffee. That this coffee was used to win the USBC speaks volumes about the remarkable work the producers, Victoria Dalton-Diaz and her husband Francisco, as well as the pickers, millers, exporters and importers have done to deliver a coffee of such impeccable quality.

The Matalapa farm is located in the La Cumbre mountain ranges just south of the capital, and it enjoys a distinctly different climate than the more well-known coffee region of Santa Ana. The farm faces the Pacific Ocean and receives a good deal of moisture and occasionally powerful winds that surely influence the character of the coffee.

The farm was originally planted in 1913 by Doña Fidelia Lima. Today it is owned and operated by her great-granddaughter, Victoria Dalton-Diaz. It is a place of great beauty, lush with vegetation and more than forty species of shade trees bordered by tropical forest that is home to a variety of flora, fauna, and birds.

Over the last couple of years Vickie has done a lot of work restoring the mill and augmenting the original systems with some newer equipment to increase efficiency and reduce the already low environmental footprint. It is a gorgeous place to visit, and walking around there one cannot help but be transported to a time long past.

I was honored to use the coffee from Finca Matalapa for my competition espresso, and I want thank Vickie, her family, and everyone who helped deliver this coffee to Intelligentsia. We all share in the success of the coffee together… and whether you are preparing espresso in your coffeebar or at home, we want you to share in this experience as well.  Enjoy!

This coffee is no longer available.