Producer: Diego Baraona
Elevation: 1,400 meters above sea level
A short story about the farmer:
We want to celebrate the person behind "Los Pirineos", Diego Baraona. As we take a trip lasting a few hours from the city-center of San Salvador to Usultan, we arrive up top beautiful hills, 1400 meters above sea level on the slopes of a stand-alone volcano overlooking the family farm. This unique positioning provides a microclimate unlike any other with sun-filled days and cool breezes, creating an environment ideal for coffee production, processing, and drying. This climate is capitalized on especially well in the drying area of the farm where raised drying beds are positioned between two peaks, creating a wind tunnel through which a breeze constantly flows. The beds are exposed to the sun for twelve hours per day while the temperature is regulated by the persistent wind, creating an ideal environment for producing Honey and Natural coffees.
Standing along the edge of the hills, overlooking the farm from a distance, Diego calmly walks up and we began to chat. He asked, "How would you describe your experience so far?"... Ade Oye replied, "Mystic... It feels magical"... As Diego mentioned the exact timing of when the mist was going to disappear, we had a great conversation about our life experiences and journey and enjoyed several laughters. This moment served as the inspiration to naming the coffee we selected from the estate -- "Mystic Los Pirineos".
Diego took the helm at the farm in 2020 following his father’s passing and now works to carry on the tradition and legacy of not only his father Gilberto, but the more than 130 years of experience, history, and knowledge that his family has in coffee cultivation.
While quality is certainly important at Los Pirineos, Diego keeps an eye toward environmental and social responsibility as well. All of the water used in production and processing of the coffee comes from collected rainwater. Bees are also kept here, both to produce honey and to contribute to the local ecosystem in a variety of ways. Diego employs around 60 people on the farm, and works to make sure that the people who harvest the coffee are also working on other projects on the farm year-round for consistent and sustainable work. All of the coffee at Los Pirineos is shade grown under trees planted by Diego’s father Gilberto, which provide not only quality growing conditions for the coffee, but additional habitat space for local fauna.
