Ecuador Morona Santiago Juan Peña Taisha Blend
Produced from local cultivars by 25 small holders from Taisha in collaboration with exporter Juan Peña, this coffee is seriously indulgent. Rich, velvety body with huge notes of dark chocolate brownie, hazelnut, caramel and dried fruit.
We don't see a lot of great coffee out of Ecuador, so we always get excited when there's a chance to snatch up a real catch like this one! The best word for this coffee is indulgent. We're talking dark chocolate and brownies with hazelnut and drizzled all over with caramel. This is a choco-holics dream! Rich, velvety texture and excellent balance round out an absolute treat of a cup. If you enjoy a good beer from time to time, this coffee reminds me of a really rich porter or chocolate stout. We also noted a bit of dried fruit, similar to golden raisins or prune.
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: December 12th, 2022. US Arrival: Spring 2022, vacuum packed in GrainPro
Acidity & Brightness: Moderately bright, very sweet
Balance & Finish: Quite balanced, lingering sweet finish
Body & Texture: Full, rich body, velvety texture
Flavors: Dark chocolate brownie, caramel, hazelnut and dried fruit
Grade: SHG (Strictly high Grown) very dense, grown at 1600-1800 masl
Processing: Fully washed and dried on raised beds
Grower: 25 producers organized around Macus community in collaboration with Juan Peña of CaféExporto
Region: Taisha, Morona Santiago, Ecuador
Varieties: Local Arabica Cultivars
Recommended Roast Range: City+ to Full City+ (Light-medium to medium-dark)
Start with a Full City (Medium), or after 1st crack has ended and before 2nd crack has begun. Lighter roasts (as 1st crack is trailing off) will showcase more acidity and fresh fruity sweetness such as plum and fig. Darker roasts (the first few snaps of 2nd crack), will turn the chocolate darker and accent more caramelized sweetness. This coffee roasts very evenly.
Royal Coffee - "Have you ever paused to think about all of the amazing origin countries that the equator passes through? The most obvious, Ecuador, might not be the first to come to mind. Ecuador is one of the more elusive origins, likely the result of a high cost of production, which makes it more difficult to compete in a global market. Juan Peña, who established an export company called CaféExporto, has been working on ways to capture quality premiums with a group of producers from the community of Macus who cultivate coffee on just a few acres of land. Juan has been providing seed and technical support to a group of 25 producers. Through a model of collaboration, Juan has been able to build a traceable community blend with a vibrant regional profile. Each producer has their own micro-mill to carefully harvest cherries, depulp, ferment, wash and gently dry the parchment on raised beds. CaféExporto provides crucial logistical support for things like warehousing, quality control and preparing coffee for export to the international market, which provides better income for everyone to reinvest in their farms and strengthen their families’ livelihoods."
