XX7 - Majahual

We anticipate this coffee will be roasted the week of September 28, 2026, with subscribers having the first opportunity to purchase.

The seventh coffee in our wildcard series showcases SL28 grown in El Salvador and processed using a yeast-controlled cherry dried method, presenting in the cup with vibrant, sticky, fruited notes of mango, red currant and peach.

From Christopher: "Bourbon came to Central America via Brazil, gifted to President Justo Rufino Barrios of Guatemala and then shared by Barrios with his friend Narciso Avilés, the then-mayor of Santa Ana, El Salvador. Three generations later, the great-granddaughter of Narciso, Aida Batlle, would go on to win the Cup of Excellence with coffee grown on her family’s farm, Kilimanjaro, on the Apaneca-Ilamatepec range.

"Genetic testing by World Coffee Research and CIRAD would later show that the coffee grown on Aida’s farm—thought to be Bourbon and descended from the trees gifted to her great-grandfather—was, in fact, SL34 and SL28.  While debate has emerged over the possibility that SL28 may no longer exist in Kenya, with exemplars of SL28 from Mamuto and Kamavindi Estates, among others, testing as K7 and SL9, the fact that germplam in El Salvador appears genetically related to SL28 offers enticing possibilities.

"SL28, which was selected by Scott Laboratories in Kenya as a single tree from the Tanganyika Drought Resistant collection, proved to perform well to lower-elevation and drier areas—making it well-suited to the hot and dry conditions in El Salvador as well as the lower elevations of its farms relative to those planted along the Great Rift Valley or Andes ranges.

"Just south of Santa Ana on the border of the Sonsonate department, another set of fourth-generation coffee producers, the Murray-Alvarez Family, grow El Salvador’s traditional Bourbon in fertile soils under shade canopy on their farm, Majahual. Patrick and Christina, great-grandchildren of the farm’s founder are working to modernize the farm as a way to combat the volatility of the coffee market and the disruptions of climate change. Part of those efforts include exploring advanced processing in the hopes of serving as a community wet mill to improve the economics of coffee production for their neighbors, and part includes the planting of exotic varieties on their farm—including  SL28.

This year, Majahual produced just 48kg of SL28—processed as a natural using yeast to control the fermentation. Half of that lot went to El Salvador’s Barista Champion for use in competition—and the other half went to Aviary. This beautiful representation of SL28 presented with vibrant, sticky, fruited notes of mango, red currant and peach with a green tea-like body."