Finca El Majahual, originally called Los Naranjos, was founded in 1936 in the Los Naranjos Valley located in Sonsonate, El Salvador, where moderate weather and an ideal altitude combine to provide ideal growing conditions for cultivating coffees.
Finca El Majahual is not just another coffee farm. It’s an economic and social project, a business that’s focused not only on growing the best coffee possible but also growing the people and the community surrounding the farm. To Patrick Murray and his sister Christina, who in recent years took back management of the farm that their great-grandfather founded in 1936, investing and cultivating the well-being of their staff and the environment, is a guiding principle and a way of life. Our close relationship with Patrick, and our visits to Finca El Majahaul, allowed us to witness firsthand how this approach created a better, more sustainable coffee growing environment, represented by wonderful coffees such as Red Bourbon.
Don Rafael Meza-Ayau Sr., who owned and operated the farm, turned it into a successful exporter of beans to the European market. For several decades, the coffees from Majahual were renowned for their excellent cupping quality, body, and flavors.
Eventually, Finca Majahual was handed down to Don Rafael ́s grandson, Roberto H. Murray-Meza, who has since maintained a strong commitment to upholding the farm’s excellent reputation in the coffee industry, consistently cultivating excellent coffees. In addition, Roberto has dedicated significant efforts over the years to improve the farmworkers’ social wellbeing, by funding projects such as the on-site Clinica San Rafael, which provides medical assistance to farmers; the Centro Escolar La Cumbre, which provides education to the farmers’ children; and building community spaces for farmers, their families, and the neighboring community members.
The farm has been managed by the last several years by Patrick Murray and his sister Christina, who follow their father’s vision and footsteps by growing high-quality coffee cherries while nurturing their community. The Murray-Meza family’s efforts to give back to their community, as well as their efforts to protect the environment, have been recognized and certified by the Rainforest Alliance organization, which gave Finca Majahual a perfect score.
Most of the farm’s coffees are of the Bourbon variety, like this one, and they are all grown under shade. This particular lot is a great representation of the fantastic coffees that the Murray-Mezza family has produced over the last decades: it is full of delicate cocoa and almond flavors, with a full body and a delicate, rosehip-like acidity.
