Ecuador Pichincha Sidra

Ecuador coffee is a rarity. They ship out 400,000 pounds a year which sounds like a lot, but when you think about 50 million pounds a year out of Brazil and 15 million pounds a year out of Colombia, you understand Ecuador is just a speck.

Pichincha is a region in the North-Central part of the country, and this coffee was grown on a tiny farm called Finca Carolina and owned by a man named Fausto Romo. The beans are all the Sidra varietal, which is a varietal currently unique to Ecuador -- a cross of Typica and Bourbon famous for its floral notes. The coffee was grown at roughly 4000 feet above sea level. Being the Sidra varietal makes it command a premium, as there are a lot of roasters looking for this. 

This is best as a light roast coffee. It's not hard to roast -- there's a pretty good range of roasting profiles and ending temperatures that work with this bean. Our favorite roast is smack dab between first cracks and second cracks. So about a minute after the first cracks end, and about a minute before the 2nd cracks begin (with an air roaster, your times will be much shorter than this). As you go darker, you lose the sweetness and floral notes of the coffee. It's still good coffee, all the way up to the 2nd cracks. The lighter you take it the more complexity you get, but the lightest roasts get almost overwhelmingly floral and are not as creamy. But right down the middle you can expect to find the following: sweet, creamy silky body, medium acidity, aroma of rose petal, sweet, buttery chocolate, hint of lemon. Sweet. Very clean aftertaste. Reminds me of a Jamaica Blue Mountain having a good year. It's subtle in its complexity. Much like a white tea. You could drink this without thinking about it and maybe not notice how special it is, but if you save it for a special day and savor the mug, you won't be disappointed.

Really nice single origin espresso. We take it just to 2nd cracks and enjoy the flavors of rose, citrus, and very smooth mouthfeel with sweet aftertaste.

It's fun to have a coffee from Ecuador, and this is an above average bean from a rarely seen origin. We had bought this coffee before and loved it but this year we met Fausto Romo on his farm and he is a real character. His family helps pick, process and ship this coffee. I would particularly recommend it to customers who enjoy high-end Central American coffees.

US Arrival January 2020