El Salvador Carlos Pola

This specialty filter coffee from El Salvador, roasted by Rum Baba in Amsterdam, offers a rich combination of flavor and story. Below are all the key details, from origin and sustainable cultivation to the roast profile, flavor nuances and brewing advice.

This coffee comes from Finca Las Brisas in Juayúa, located in the Apaneca–Ilamatepec mountain range in El Salvador. The farm is owned by the Pola family, led by coffee producer Carlos Pola, who took over the estate in 1997 to continue the family tradition. The land spans elevations of roughly 1,300–1,600 meters above sea level, high in volcanic mountains with diverse microclimates that foster complex flavors. This rich environment and the Pola family’s generations of coffee expertise form the foundation for the quality of this bean.

El Salvador Carlos Pola is lightly roasted, specifically as a filter coffee, to preserve its natural sweetness and nuances. Rum Baba roasts with great care on a traditional Probat machine in Amsterdam, resulting in a balanced and gentle coffee character. This coffee is roasted fresh and typically shipped within 1 to 10 days of roasting, so enthusiasts receive it at its peak freshness. The light roast profile makes it an approachable everyday coffee with enough depth for the connoisseur.

In the cup you immediately taste notes of creamy nougat, sweet yellow raisins and roasted hazelnut. The coffee also offers a hint of burnt sugar and even a touch of red fruit in the aroma, adding extra complexity. The mouthfeel is smooth and comforting, without sharp acidity or bitterness. This well-balanced flavor experience gives it a mild character that makes this coffee an excellent “daily driver”, a coffee you’ll happily drink every day.

Carlos Pola is a honey process coffee. In the honey processing method, the coffee cherries are depulped, but part of the sticky mucilage (the “honey”) is left on the bean during drying. The result sits between washed and natural, with good fruitiness and moderate sweetness in the final cup. Honey processed coffee requires little water, which aligns perfectly with Carlos’s focus on water conservation. The result is a clean yet sweet coffee, as clear in flavor as a washed coffee, with the extra body and sweetness associated with a natural process.

This coffee is the Arabica variety Pacas. Pacas is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety, discovered in 1949 on a Salvadoran farm belonging to the Pacas family. It is a compact-growing plant that enables higher yields per hectare and today accounts for about 25% of all coffee production in El Salvador. Pacas is known for excellent cup quality on high-altitude farms. Interestingly, Pacas is one of the "parents" of the famous Pacamara hybrid (a cross between Pacas and Maragogype), a variety that regularly competes in competitions alongside top varieties such as Geisha.

Carlos Pola is a pioneer in sustainable coffee cultivation. Since 2012 he has configured his finca for environmentally friendly production, with drastically fewer pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, seeking natural alternatives for crop protection. Coffee shrubs are planted in double rows under shade trees that fix nitrogen in the soil, so that virtually all rainfall is retained. Moreover, Carlos has introduced beneficial mycorrhizal fungi that, in symbiosis with the plants, improve nutrient uptake and keep the soil healthy. For processing he uses only methods (honey, natural and controlled fermentation) that require hardly any water; any wastewater is treated anaerobically and then reused as a nutrient on the land. Carlos is also socially engaged: each year he organizes an auction to promote specialty coffee from local Salvadoran farmers and to support the community.

This lightly roasted coffee shines with filter brewing methods. Rum Baba recommends methods such as manual pour-over (e.g., V60), Aeropress, or a filter machine like the Moccamaster. Use freshly ground coffee (medium grind for V60/Aeropress, slightly coarser for cafetière) and water around 93 °C. A ratio of about 1:16 (for example, 15 grams of coffee to 240 ml of water) is a good starting point for a balanced cup. Thanks to its approachable profile, this coffee can be enjoyed without additions, yet it also remains pleasant with a splash of milk.

Carlos Pola is internationally regarded as an innovative pioneer in the specialty coffee world. His experimental drive bore fruit on the world stage: in 2019 a signature cocktail made with his special "frozen natural" Pacamara coffee won the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. In addition, the Pacamara variety from Finca Las Brisas ranks among the best in El Salvador, consistently earning high scores and competing for top positions in Cup of Excellence competitions alongside renowned varieties such as Geisha. Carlos’s coffee also earns praise from coffee lovers for its excellent balance between accessibility and complexity, making his beans popular both in competition circles and among everyday drinkers.

Rum Baba packages this coffee in a playful, modern way. The 250 gram bag features a striking design with a graphic black-and-white pattern and clear labels. The label lists all essential details, from origin and variety to processing method and tasting notes, so you can see at a glance what you have. The packaging includes a degassing valve and a resealable strip to preserve freshness, ideal for daily dosing of freshly roasted beans. In addition, Rum Baba encourages the use of larger 1 kg packages to reduce packaging waste, without compromising the colorful, signature design.

El Salvador Carlos Pola is available directly via the Rum Baba web shop and in their coffee-bar stores in Amsterdam. The coffee is packed per 250 grams at €12.50, or in a value 1 kg bag for €40.00. When purchasing multiple bags, Rum Baba offers a 20% discount on kilo packages, which saves not only on price but also on packaging material. Orders from €55 ship free within the Netherlands, and there are also shipping options to Belgium, Germany, France and other countries within the EU. In short, this special coffee is easy to order or pick up, so you can enjoy a fresh cup of El Salvador Carlos Pola whenever you like.