Under the direction of Juan Peña, Hacienda La Papaya was started in 2009, with the first coffee trees planted in 2010, and has been on the leading edge of Specialty coffee production in Ecuador since then. From the start, Juan endeavored to produce the highest quality coffee that he could - planting exclusive varieties, installing drip irrigation systems for all 35,000 plants, and working intimately with agronomists and researchers from nearby Cuenca University to use the most up-to-date research and technology possible to do so. Situated 15 miles south of the parish of Saraguro in Ecuador’s Andean Coastal region, La Papaya falls within a more dry-tropical climate, which requires more irrigation than the more humid-tropical northern parts of Ecuador, closer to the Amazon. Luckily there are sufficient fresh water sources around, and this allows Juan and his team to have even more control over the distribution of water to the plants.
In addition to the careful tending of the trees and ecosystem within which they reside, Juan and his team have also taken a very quality-driven approach to how they process their coffee. In 2020, they started to experiment with fermentation in different containers, and after some trial and error, found great success in using Oak Barrels that had previously been used to store rum! The process involves starting with ripe, freshly picked coffee cherries and adding them to oak barrels. The barrels are then sealed and monitored for the next 5 days before being laid out to dry for 28 to 30 days in the drying room. Finally, the full cherries are dehusked and prepared for shipment.
The process results in an incredibly complex coffee - sweet fruit aromatics that include banana, cherry, and plum, a pleasantly bright pear/apple acidity, brown sugar/toffee sweetness, the deep fruit notes of concord grape, orange, and goji berry, all with a silky smooth body and mouthfeel. We’ve only got a limited quantity of this exceptional coffee, so grab it before it’s gone!
How to Brew It:
This coffee will perform best brewed as a pourover at a coffee to water ratio of 1:15, and a brew temperature of 203–207 degrees.
CountryEcuador
RegionSaraguro/Loja
VarietalTypica
Altitude1900–2100 MASL
Production MethodNatural, 120 Hour Oak Barrel Fermentation
