Romo & Morales - Ecuador

Nanci and Ramiro began producing coffee in 2021, after spending many years working the land. Their deep experience as land workers laid the foundation for their transition into coffee farming. The Yumbos inhabited this northwestern region of Pichincha, they were traders who helped connect the Ecuadorian highlands with the coast through a network of roads that traversed the jungles of the cloud forest. The Yumbos gradually disappeared due to displacement by settlers and volcanic eruptions. It was not until 1940 that the area began to transform into agricultural lands. Sugarcane and livestock have been the main outputs, with coffee production commencing in the first decade of the millennium. Since then, it has become the second-largest region for Arabica coffee production in Ecuador. The development of the varietals Sidra and Typica Mejorado in the area boosted the specialty coffee production in Ecuador.

This sidra variety is selected by flotation, then undergoes a first fermentation in the cherry for 24 hours. The cherries are pulped, washed and placed in vats for a second fermentation of 12 to 15 hours, depending on the temperature of the day. Following the second fermentation, the coffee is washed, then the parchment is spread out on African beds inside a tunnel greenhouse where it dries for 14 -16 days until it reaches a humidity level of 10 to 11%.

Such a careful and thoughtful approach to processing results in a cup of fruity intensity that is hard to find elsewhere.

• Region: Pichincha
• Country: Ecuador
• Elevation: 1,400 masl
• Variety: Sidra
• Process: Dried in clean parchment