Some of El Salvador’s Best Coffees on Offer at the New, Upscale Ō53

All images courtesy of Ō53.

The seed-to-cup journey is a relatively short one in the case of Lote53, a roaster and retailer in San Salvador that sources its coffees directly from farms that in some cases can be less than two hours away.

Lote53 and its majority owner, Rodrigo Dumont, has just teamed up with FRESKŌ Juice and its majority owner, Dumont’s brother Juan Marco Dumont, to create a combined craft coffee, cold-pressed juice and fresh food destination called Ō53 in the heart of the city.

Rodrigo Dumont described the retail concept as a kind of upscale destination space, where customers can begin the day with coffee and other fresh-made food and drinks, sourced and prepared at the highest levels. FRESKŌ, which has been operating independently for more than a year, has just expanded its offerings from cold pressed juices to include smoothies, and made-to-order fresh foods.

For coffee, which is roasted off-site, Lote53 is sourcing from some world-renowned farms throughout El Salvador’s high-altitude regions, including Finca Malacara, Finca Las Mercedes, and Finca Piedra Pacha, all part of the Chantuc Coffee Farmers network. Dumont told Daily Coffee News that the roastery is buying only coffees that score 85-plus points, while paying international prices. He said he expects the company to soon expand sourcing operations to include additional Salvadoran farms.

Ō53’s espresso machine is a 2-group Nuova Simonelli Aurelia supported by an Anfim Scody grinder, while coffee by the cup is brewed through Chemex, V60, Aeropress and French press.

The shop opened last week at Final Calle Loma Linda, frente al Redondel Brasil, Col. San Benito.