The history of coffee in El Salvador is inextricably linked to the development of the nation. Introduced in the late 1880s, coffee quickly displaced indigo as the country’s main export, and by the 1920s, coffee accounted for 90% of all El Salvador’s exports.
A bit of history
This important production was owned by a small landowning elite that held large tracts of land (¡only President General Tomás Regalado, in 1895, had accumulated more than 6,000 hectares!) and was deeply connected to the governance of El Salvador, which had both positive and negative consequences for the country’s development.
Currently, 95% of the coffee produced in El Salvador is shade-grown, and the passion and experience of farmers, combined with a skilled workforce for harvesting and milling, greatly contribute to the country's high-quality production.
Today
Moreover, today, coffee producers have the support of the Salvadoran Coffee Council, which plays a significant role in supporting and promoting Salvadoran coffee both domestically and internationally, providing assistance to local producers.
Through its efforts, an unwavering push has been made to stimulate export markets for producers and to maintain and improve the quality of coffee produced in El Salvador. As they say in El Salvador... ¡Bébelo y sonríe!
Coffee is cultivated more or less throughout the country (well... it’s not that big after all), divided into 3 and 7 geographic regions depending on whom you ask. All are considered different from each other, mainly in terms of altitude and flavor characteristics.
