When people talk about their favorite coffee producing countries, you don't hear much about Ecuador. Meet the coffee producer who is changing that. Juan Pena is the owner of Hacienda La Papaya in the Saraguro region of Ecuador. Before growing coffee, Pena grew long-stemmed roses, but when a storm wiped out his entire crop he switched to coffee.
Despite being relatively new to coffee farming, Pena is producing a fantastic crop thanks to some innovative practices. Pena has an experimental garden on his farm where he tests the impact of different varieties and fertilizers. Pena's scientific commitment to isolating variables and standardizing practices reveals itself in an exceptionally sweet and complex cup of coffee. We were excited to partner with Cafe Imports to source this microlot.
This lot of coffee is 100% typica, an old variety known for its sweetness and body but unpopular with farmers because of its low yield. Despite its fantastic cup characteristics, it's very rare to find a 100% typica lot. We taste cherry and chocolate with a crisp chardonnay finish. It's a truly exquisite coffee you don't want to miss.
La Papaya is available by the cup in each of our cafés and on our webstore. For more information about coffee in Ecuador read this fantastic article by Erin Meister.