Situated in the lush highlands surrounding Santa Ana Volcano, the Alvarez family have been crafting world-renowned coffees at their El Borbollon mill since 1985. The beans for the mill are sourced from the historic Finca La Reforma and Finca Santa Maria, which were planted in 1892 with seeds brought over by the family's patriarch, Rafael Alvarez Lalinde, when he immigrated from Colombia. Six generations of Alvarez family members have tended to these lands, and today, they primarily cultivate the prized Red Bourbon variety, with trials of Orange and Yellow Bourbon variations developed in their nursery to test for new and exciting quality potential.

These coffees are 100% shade-grown and hand-picked at the peak of ripeness, and the mill is committed to traceability, ensuring that each lot can be traced back to its farm grid location for continual quality improvements. At the mill, the cherries are pulped and dry fermented in tanks for 16-20 hours before the mucilage is washed away under fresh, clean water. The parchment is then spread out on traditional clay patios to dry, a process that takes a minimum of 9-10 days. The parchment is manually turned every 45-60 minutes throughout drying to ensure uniform and stable results, and the mill is even conducting small-scale experiments to extend the drying time by restricting certain hours of direct sun to produce the best qualities.

But the Alvarez family's commitment to excellence extends beyond just the coffee beans themselves. They are deeply passionate about their local community, environment, and employee health and wellbeing, and work closely with local organizations to fight malnutrition among children in regional areas. They have even set up a health clinic open to surrounding villages, which hosts visiting specialists to provide free testing, advice, and education for medical care. And for children between the ages of 5 and 15, the family offers free school on the farms. This dedication to corporate social responsibility is woven into the very DNA of El Borbollon, making them who they are while sharing with the world their distinctive coffees.