In 2001, six generations after Emilio Alvarez first introduced coffee to El Salvador, the industry was in trouble.  A world-wide glut of coffee caused prices to tumble to an all time low.  Many plantations like Topéca ceased operations because coffee beans had become more expensive to produce than they were worth on the open market. Despite these unfavorable conditions, Emilio Alvarez’s great-granddaughter,  Margarita Lucia Díaz de López, convinced her son, Emilio, and her son-in-law, John Gaberino, to help her save the family’s coffee legacy.