SEPTEMBER - Juan Peña | Ecuador - Washed - Geisha

Juan Peña is the pioneer of coffee cultivation in the Saraguro region. The team at Hacienda La Papaya plant exclusive varieties and utilize the best agricultural technology such as drip irrigation. The vision has always been very clear about producing only high-quality plants and completing processes where everything is managed by agronomists. Hacienda la Papaya exported their first harvest in 2014 to markets in the United States and since 2015 the coffee has been recognized in the United States, often placing in the top three of some of the most important international coffee competitions. Juan has won 3 consecutive Sprudge Notable Producer awards recognizing Hacienda la Papaya as the farm of a top quality coffee producer.

Processing

The process begins immediately after harvest with the selective picking of ripe cherries. Each lot is hand-harvested to ensure only the optimal cherries are selected. After harvesting, cherries are sorted by floatation and density to ensure uniform fermentation and a balanced cup. Once sorted, the outer skin and pulp are removed using manual or electric pulping machines. This stage leaves the coffee covered with its mucilage layer for fermentation. Afterwards, the parchment is washed in spring water to ensure complete removal of residual mucilage and organisms. The seeds are then dried between 9 to 18 days, depending on weather and altitude.

Variety

This variety has been established in Juan Peña’s farms since 2018. The seeds were obtained from a farm in the Boquete Panama area, which has a record for the propagation of plants of this variety. It requires high nutritional requirements and has a medium-high productivity, which does not need shade as long as it has suitable humidity and nutritional levels.