About this Coffee
Aromatics of honeysuckle and cocoa introduce a complex cup offering notes of milk chocolate, delicate strawberry, and a refreshing bergamot quality on the finish.
Carlos Batres inherited Montecarlos in the mid-1980s. The fifth generation of his family to steward this land, Batres has made Montecarlos his life’s work. In 2018, the Montecarlos Estate released its first harvest of the gesha variety, produced from seeds that Carlos obtained from none other than the famed Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. This 2021 harvest marks the fourth consecutive year that we have proudly presented the Montecarlos Gesha on Passenger’s Reserve Lot menu.
In the mid-1980’s Carlos Batres was living in London representing El Salvador at the International Coffee Organization. During this time the coffee market was regulated by quotas in which a target price was set, and export quotas allocated to each producer. When the indicator price set by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) fell below the target price, quotas were decreased (to check supply and demand); if it rose above it, quotas were increased (ditto). Although the system had its problems, it was successful in raising and stabilizing the price of coffee. The quota system temporarily broke down, due to the 1985 drought in Brazil, and Carlos went back to live in El Salvador representing Goldman Sachs and General Foods Maxwell House. During this time Carlos inherited a farm in Apaneca, El Salvador.
While the Montecarlos story starts with Carlos Batres inheriting a farm, it was his vision of what the farm could be and his passion for coffee that have made Montecarlos what it is now. Carlos inherited the mill, which dates back to the 1870’s, and has been in the family for five generations. However, to create the Montecarlos of today took decades. Year by year Carlos purchased land with the goal of owning the entire volcano upon which Montecarlos sits. Carlos and his partner Julie Batres now own the entire volcano which sits in a chain of volcanic cones, two of which have been active in the recent past.
The 2022 harvest marks the fifth consecutive year of Passenger’s ongoing foundational partnership with Carlos and Julie. The primary varieties that are produced on the estate are Caturra, Bourbon, Catuaí, Pacamara, and Gesha. This year, Passenger’s green buying team selected the bourbon to serve as our Foundational Montecarlos offering, as well as two Reserve Lots featuring fresh separations of the Pacamara and Gesha varieties.