To kick off the first 2 coffees of our brand new subscription service, we have 2 lovely mejorados from the same producers: Henry and Verena Gaibor at Finca Maputo in La Perla, Ecuador. The couple first met in Bujumbura, Burundi volunteering together for Doctors without borders in 1996. 2 years later, they decided to move to Henry's home country of Ecuador to start a clinic together in Quito. After operating that clinic for over 13 years, Henry and Verena decided to purchase land and start farming coffee, and so Finca Maputo was born. At 1,300masl near the border of Colombia in La Perla, Nanegal, their farms have a very specific microclimate, often covered in fog and experiencing very low evening temperatures. The leadership at Finca Maputo credits the labor of their picking team as its most important asset, hiring the same pickers year over year and encouraging them to have a sense of community and ownership at the farm. This dedication leads to impeccable sorting and cherry selection, further contributing to the very high quality ceiling at Finca Maputo. In our continued work with one of our favorite importers, Cafe Imports, we decided to source coffee from 2 different plots at Finca Maputo: "Hakuna Matata" and "Rancho Tio Emilio." Despite being very close to eachother, these 2 unique microclimates offer very different flavor profiles and exist to highlight the importance of specificity when it comes to buying high quality green coffee.
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Ecuador Hakuna Matata Mejorado Washed:
In the cup, we find an abundance of tart white grapes and beautifully layered jasmine florals. As it cools, a bright red cranberry sweetness rises to the surface, alongside rooibos tea and red currant.
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Ecuador Rancho Tio Emilio Mejorado Washed:
This one offers a great deal of complexity, starting off with a lactic sweetness similar to fruity cereal milk, with some classic mejorado raw sugar tones and a body like jasmine green tea. As it cools, tons of citrus comes in with grapefruit, pomelo and lime all making a showing at different points in the cup evolution.