Finca Santa Cecilia
Finca Santa Cecilia
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Origin: Ecuador
Tasting Notes:
Finca Santa Cecilia is back for a second year in a row and we couldn't be more astounded with the cup quality improvement from last year's harvest. This is saying a lot because we loved last year's harvest too. This year we are getting chocolate/fudge, cherry, and a fruited aspect that to be honest I am struggling to put an exact descriptor on.
Sourcing Partner: The Coffee Quest
Information from The Coffee Quest:
Finca Santa Cecilia is located in Palta, Loja, Ecuador, and is managed by brothers Juan Carlos and Wilson Gallego. The farm consists of 3 hectares of land, sits at an elevation of 1,850 m.a.s.l, where they grow 2,700 trees of Caturra, 1,800 trees of Bourbon, 3,600 trees of Catucai, and 900 trees of Typica.
All their coffee is processed the same way in the wet mill; upon arriving, the coffee is de-pulped and then dry fermented for between 36 and 40 hours. After washing the coffees, they are dried in a greenhouse structure for between 12-15 days.
Wilson has owned this farm for more than 45 years and worked on it together with his brother since he was young. For many years, they were simply producing conventional coffee, with no focus on quality. As such, they were simply processing quickly and selling to intermediaries. About 9 years ago, they entered into a group of producers who had access to a better market; this motivated them to improve both production and quality. Unfortunately, the group didn’t succeed as a whole, but they remained committed to producing specialty coffee. These days, Wilson has left most of the production and processing decisions to his brother Juan Carlos, who is doing an amazing job staying focused on quality.
This was a huge factor in motivating Angel to produce higher quality coffee and receive higher prices for his coffees. The association has since disbanded, but Angel continues to focus on producing high quality coffees, looking for buyers who value and appreciate his efforts.
Aside from coffee, they also grow lemons, oranges, avocados, plantains, and cherimoya (a fruit Mark Twain coined as one of the most delicious fruits known to mankind!). While we’ve been working in Loja for years, this is our second season working with Wilson and Juan Carlos and we’re thrilled for harvests to come!