84.14

"Coffee and Social Responsibility"

The origin of Las Pampas began in 1870, when General Francisco Menendez started to change the plantations of Indigo for coffee. The place where the farm is located now used to be where all the cattle were kept during the time when the colorant was made. During the 1960´s, Enrique Magana, father of Horacio Magana inherited the land and constructed a small health unit in the middle of Apaneca, because he always wanted to improve the living conditions of the people. Six generations later, Horacio Magana, father of Gustavo Magana, winner of the 13th place in this COE edition as well, still is struggling to maintain the quality of the land and the plantation. The farm, made up of 90% Bourbón and 10% Caturra., covers 49 hectares of land, 42 of those hectares are used for coffee plantations. The coffee was processed in the mill of the San Ramon family, using a wet processing method and is dried in patios. The coffee from the different farms is never mixed and can be well identified. The Magana follow a very clear quality control, beginning during the picking season where only the ripe beans are harvested. Each lot is processed and stored separately. The coffee is dried between 7 to 8 hours during 14 days, and rests for at least one month.