El Salvador, the smallest of the seven Central American countries, nestles between Guatemala and Honduras. Its landscape is studded with volcanoes and lakes, and fringed by beaches beloved by surfers. Due to a lack of natural resources, the economy leans heavily on agriculture, particularly sugar cane and coffee production, yet the country must rely on imports for grain. Deforestation has taken a severe toll, with about 80% of current forests being planted rather than natural. Many Salvadorans seek work in the United States, supporting their families through remittances. The country maintains a pro-American stance, evidenced by widespread English education and the adoption of the US dollar as currency. However, this alignment also underscores El Salvador's vulnerability and dependence on larger nations. El Salvador experienced a civil war from 1980 to 1992, followed by a series of natural disasters, including a hurricane in 1998 and two major earthquakes in 2001. These events sparked a wave of migration to the US, often through illegal channels, with some migrants facing deportation. This migration indirectly contributed to El Salvador's current gang problem, as some deportees brought back elements of Los Angeles gang culture. The ongoing conflict between two major gang factions has severely compromised domestic security, earning El Salvador the unenviable reputation of having the world's highest homicide rate. In response, young president Nayib Bukele has implemented stringent security measures, significantly reducing the homicide rate. Bukele envisions El Salvador as a digital nation and is pursuing economic growth through three key pillars: a cryptocurrency ecosystem, technology outsourcing, and artificial intelligence. In 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender.

Coffee has played a pivotal role in shaping El Salvador's history. In the 1880s, it replaced indigo as the country's main crop. However, the Great Depression of the 1930s caused coffee prices to plummet, leading to widespread poverty among farmers. This discontent culminated in a major peasant uprising in 1932 known as La Matanza, resulting in 10,000 to 40,000 deaths. Coffee production declined afterward but was revived in the 1970s by European immigrants who became known as the "Fourteen Families" (Catorce Familias). This powerful oligarchy amassed great wealth through coffee production and controlled most of the agricultural land, reducing small-scale rural producers to mere laborers. This inequality eventually triggered the Salvadoran Civil War. The conflict, which pitted left-wing forces advocating for peasant liberation against right-wing groups supported by the "Fourteen Families," lasted over a decade until a UN-brokered peace agreement in 1992. The aftermath of the war, compounded by natural disasters, has led to a constant decline in El Salvador's coffee production. A report published by World Coffee Research in 2019 listed El Salvador as one of the coffee-producing countries at risk of continuous decline and eventual disappearance. Despite these challenges, El Salvador's coffee possesses unique and irreplaceable qualities. The country's isolation during the civil war helped preserve pure coffee varieties like Bourbon. Additionally, the Pacamara variety, a cross between Pacas and Maragogipe developed by the Salvadoran Coffee Research Institute (ISIC), is renowned for its excellent flavor and texture. El Salvador's natural environment, which once supported the world's fourth-largest coffee production, coupled with the diligence and perseverance of its people (often compared to the Japanese), still holds great potential for coffee production. We have partnered with Alejandro Valiente, a community leader who works with historically oppressed small-scale producers, to create new coffee trade routes for El Salvador. We strongly believe this effort will positively impact the country's future.