Ecuador Pichincha Imbabura – Chirimoya Washed Processed

Description

This is small holder coffee aggregated and milled by the award winning Galo Flores and his wife Maria Alexandra Rivera, of Finca Cruz Loma.

Galo and Maria Alexandra, in addition to personally producing some of the top coffees in Ecuador also aggregate smaller producers in their region with excellent coffee to sell. This coffee is a blend of various small family farms from the Pichincha and Imbabura provinces, 150 hectares in total, sourced and curated by Galo and Maria Alexandra. “Chirimoya” is the title for the small-farm blend, in honor of the native and uniquely delicious fruit widely grown and consumed across the Andes.

Tasting Notes: A great example of Ecuador coffee. Best from medium to dark roasts. Sweet edged, medium to low acidity, wonderful floral tones and a very clean cup. Hints of soft fruit can be found but are pretty minor, accentuates a little as the cup cools. The lighter tones of the cup mix well with a pretty classic nutty & chocolaty undertones.  Darker roasts close to, or into second crack are smooth & creamy with smoky accents; fuller bodied, semi-sweet with a lovely robust chocolaty tone. Reminiscent of a Peru coffee with its own little spin.

Roasting Notes: Easy to roast, beautiful prep and medium to low chaff. You will see a little two toned roasting being an aggregate coffee, will add to the depth of flavor at any roast point! We found dragging out the roast a bit (lower temps) will help even it out; shooting for a medium to dark roast is the way to go, leaves the cup exotic and crisp without much risk for grassy or overly sour tones. Light roasts were still decent as well but  leaned the cup towards dry nutty tones like a Brazil.

In addition to coffee it is common for farms in this area to grow any combination of potatoes, plantains, corn, sugar cane, cacao, soursop and chirimoya, and heart of palm.  As everywhere in the coffee world, harvest on small farms typically involves the whole available family as well as hired pickers. Coffee in Pichincha and Imbabura is processed at home on personal equipment and dried on hand-made structures and greenhouses. Cherry is depulped immediately after picking and fermented in sealed tanks (known as “anaerobic” fermentation) for 1-2 days. After fermentation, the parchment is thoroughly washed and moved to raised beds under shade canopy for a slow and even drying stage.  

Galo and Maria Alexandra, the managers and curators of this small-farm blend, manage their own Finca Cruz Loma, a 350-hectare plot in the community of San José de Minas, a small town in the northwestern part of Pichincha, a short trip north of Quito. The estate has been in Galo’s family going back 80 years. Galo’s experience in coffee began 20 years ago working alongside his mother on the farm; he would go on to work professionally in the coffee sector, for exporters and as a project manager, before returning to full-time farming. In Galo’s words, “cultivating my coffee is an activity that allows me to apply and develop the skills and habits I’ve learned over the years; it’s also an essential resource for my family, since my wife, my daughters, and myself are all involved with the production and marketing of our coffee. Everybody in the family has a critical role in the coffee’s success.” Galo’s experience in the value chain has positioned his family well to help create opportunities for other farms by representing their coffees to exporters.