Ecuador La Florida

Winners of the 2020 Taza Dorada in Ecuador and coffee used by 2021 Brewers Cup World Champion.
La Florida is run by the Coronel family and it’s a perfect example of a sustainable integrated farm which produces world class coffees. They are experienced land workers, producing in their land sugar cane, fruit and vegetables, breed pigs, tilapia fish and cultivate one of the healthiest plantations of coffee we’ve seen so far.

The Coronel family run an agroforestry system in the farm where they pay special attention to the soil. They strongly believe that a healthy soil, adapted to the plant’s needs and to the environment is crucial for achieving good cup quality. Hacienda La Florida was acquired by the Coronel family in 1993. They tell us that this was a Spanish hacienda back in colonial times and an indigenous settlement before then. The climate in the area is very warm and dry. It is surrounded by a primary forest which holds a wide biodiversity like orchids, civets, armadillos, deer and pumas. Most of which are often seen in the farm.

Ramiro and his younger brother Fabrizio are both agricultural engineers. They have been cultivating coffee since 2014 after being introduced to the cultivation of specialty coffee by a project from the ministry of agriculture to re-activate the coffee production in the country. After this initial support, La Florida has evolved independently and towards a sustainable agriculture of quality.

Your lots

Yellow Catucaí Natural
Harvested by hand between March and July 2021. This coffee was carefully selected measuring the levels of sugar (Brix degrees) as they harvest it. The cherries then go through hand selection in flotation tanks to take out unwanted ‘pintones’ or unripe cherries. This lot was then placed into sterilised tanks to undergo a short carbonic maceration. These tanks are taken to a room where the temperature is controlled and remains between 21 and 22 Celsius.

After the maceration, the coffee is placed on African beds to dry under the sun for 4 days. After the 4 days of drying, the cherries went to African beds inside polytunnels for a slow drying process. For the final stage, the cherries are placed in GrainPro bags and left to stabilise for around 1 month in a dry room.