Culpan coffee grows on one of the most generous soils nature can offer: the volcanic earth on the foothills of the Santiaguito. Here the volcano is not just a landscape, it is an active part of the cultivation. Its ash falls continuously over the plantation and, year after year, renews the fertility of the land.

The Santiaguito volcano, whose ash enriches the Culpan plantation

The ash of the Santiaguito

The Santiaguito volcano remains active and continuously drops ash over the farm. Far from being a problem, this mineral rain is a blessing for the plantation: the ash brings minerals that the soil absorbs little by little and that the coffee plants draw on throughout their productive life.

This continuous contribution from the volcano is what sets a volcanic-origin coffee apart. The earth stays young and active without depending on artificial fertilisers, and the bean captures in its profile the mineral character of the place where it was born.

Pumice rock and good drainage

Beneath the surface of the plantation we find, on average, a layer of about 1.5 inches of pumice rock. This light, porous volcanic rock plays a key role: it helps the heavy rainfall drain away and, at the same time, helps the soil hold the moisture it needs between one rain and the next.

With an average annual rainfall of 3,770 millimetres, good drainage is essential. The pumice rock prevents waterlogging, keeps the roots healthy and creates a balanced environment in which high-altitude Arabica coffee can develop with vigour.

Culpan coffee plantation under dense natural shade

Dense shade and organic compost

At Culpan we keep a high density of shade trees over the plantation. Those trees protect the plants from the strongest sun, moderate the temperature, reduce erosion and, through the natural fall of their leaves, feed organic matter into the top layer of the soil.

To that natural contribution we add a constant fertilisation programme with organic compost, made on the farm from plant residues of the crop itself and of the mill. In this way we close the cycle: what the farm produces returns to the earth, and the soil stays alive, fertile and able to sustain a quality coffee harvest after harvest.

The Plantation

Soil and altitude in numbers

1,371.6 m

Minimum plantation altitude

1,478.28 m

Average plantation altitude

1,524 m

Maximum plantation altitude

1.5 in

Average pumice rock layer

A coffee that tastes of its origin

The volcanic soil of the Santiaguito lives in every bean of Culpan. Get in touch to learn more about our coffee.