HACIENDA LA PAPAYA | ECUADOR | washed

Juan Peña and his farm, Hacienda La Papaya, have been producing high quality coffee in Ecuador for many years. His 11 hectare farm sits at an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level and consistently produces exceptional coffee yields. This season we have purchased several lots from Juan and the first is a separation of his Sidra. This lot is complex, tangy and incredibly clean, displaying the floral and botanical notes we expect from this variety. In the cup there are a range of citrus, peach and pineapple, complemented by spicy ginger tea and mint. We find that this coffee develops particularly well after a few weeks of rest.

At Hacienda La Papaya, innovation and experimentation are at the forefront, always with the goal of improving quality. What began as a rose farm was converted to coffee production in 2009. The farm's first export took place in 2014, marking the beginning of Hacienda La Papaya's well-deserved reputation for both exceptional quality and its scientific approach to coffee cultivation.

The cherries are picked at peak ripeness and rinsed to remove any blemishes. The ripe cherries are then depulped and immersed in water where they ferment for 15 hours. After fermentation, the pits are thoroughly rinsed to remove any mucilage and taken to the drying rooms where they dry on raised beds for 10-18 days.

ilse was founded in 2019 with the goal of showcasing the best coffees in the world and opening people's eyes to what coffee can be. Quality coffee is what originally brought us to specialty coffee, but the people we've met along the way are what keeps us here and, more importantly, inspires and motivates us to grow.