This is the first exportable harvest from new producer Victor Dota and one of the best representations of Mejorado from Ecuador we tasted this year. This lot comes from a tiny .5-hectare (1.2-acre) farm, and we are excited to see it mature. In the cup we find Key lime, floral botanicals, and ripe stone fruit.
Mejorado
Seraguro
1,950 masl
July, 2024
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. De-pulped. Dry-fermented for 24 hours. Washed. Dried on raised beds for 15 days.
Sourcing coffee in Ecuador remains remarkably challenging. Fewer farmers are choosing to grow coffee, and prices continue to rise year after year. Despite these obstacles, coffees from this region remain some of our absolute favorites. Victor Dota is a first-generation coffee producer, and this year marks the first exportable harvest from his farm. His small garden, spanning just 0.5 hectares (~1.2 acres), consists of only 400 Mejorado plants.
Mejorado is a very unique variety mainly grown in Ecuador. Though it is colloquially known as Typica Mejorado, we now know — thanks to genetic testing by World Coffee Reseach — that it is actually a Bourbon variety cross-pollinated with an Ethiopian Landrace variety.
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.