Roaster’s Choice Single Origin Whole Bean Coffee

Coffee of the Month: Ecuador

Roast level: Medium

Region: Loja Province

Altitude: 1600-1900 MASI

Variety: Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai

Soil: Clay Minerals

Process:  Fully Washed and Dried on Raised Beds

Cup Profile: Pink Grapefruit, Papaya, Sweet Milk Chocolate.

Galo and Maria Alexandra, the exporters of this microlot, 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, first to exporters and, more recently with an export license of their own.