Ecuador Loja Altos De Marfil
Balanced Profile | Light-medium roast
Tasting Notes: Floral, Pear, Graham Cracker
IT ALL STARTS AT THE COFFEE FARM
Grown in the Loja province of southern Ecuador, this coffee's name comes from the local Bosques de Marfil, a forest and nature reserve that extends for more than 200 hectares (500 acres) and is located close to the parroquia of El Limo. The forest has abundance of Tagua trees, a species of palm found in South America, and provides life and income to the communities that inhabit the region. In the past, the Altos de Marfil has been a collection of up to 44 smallholder farmers in the area - for this harvest, however, it comes from just three: Francisco Beltran, Gladys Alvarez and Edison Loyoga.
These three producers have a very long tradition in coffee production, passing the knowledge on from generation to generation, and as a result their practices are traditional - however, with the help of the PECA educator they were able to learn more about processing and drying to achieve better tasting coffees. They grow traditional varietals and in recent years have introduced new ones at their farms such as the famed Bourbon Sidra.
Each farm is truly a family business, where every member helps in the production of coffee - and in some cases, the wife overseeing coffee while the husband works in construction or cattle to get additional income. Interestingly, most of the families are involved with beekeeping, which is extremely helpful for the pollination of the coffee trees and other plants on their farms, but also provides extra income.
These farmers also benefitted from Caravela's coffee farmer education program PECA. Its main role is to educate producers and their families season after season on best practices to increase productivity and improve quality, with the end goal of becoming more profitable. In recent years with the visits of the PECA educator, the coffee producers of Altos de Marfil have improved in farm management and environmentally friendly practices. They have a huge potential and are hungry to improve year after year.
TRACEABILITY
PRODUCER
Francisco Beltran, Gladys Alvarez, Edison Loyoga
MILL / WASHING STATION
On farms
PROCESSING
Washed
ALTITUDE
1200 - 1860 meters
DID YOU KNOW
The Tagua palms provide a type of seed which the communities use to create all types of crafts, which they sell. These art crafts generate extra income for the communities and can help them survive during difficult economic times.
PRICE TRANSPARENCY
$4.60
Price paid by Driftaway
$3.67
Free on Board price
$3.00
Farm Gate price
$2.21
Fair Trade price per pound
$2.01
Coffee C-Market price per pound
$0.05
Driftaway's World Coffee Research contribution per pound
This coffee travelled 3,105 miles to the Driftaway Coffee roastery in Queens.
Love the coffee? You can share your compliments & tasting observations with the farmers.
WHY DID WE SELECT THIS COFFEE?
We’ve roasted the Altos de Marfil for four years now, and each year we eagerly anticipate the new harvest. This season did not disappoint: as always, it’s a sweet and dense coffee with floral aromas. The pear sweetness of this lot balances perfectly with the graham cracker base notes.
AVERAGE CUPPING SCORE
86.25
/100
86.25
SCAA Cupping Score
15 x 69 kg
Bags purchased
4 years
Length of producer relationship
100% (in 2022)
Transparent coffees purchased
HOW DID WE ROAST THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is being roasted by Ian T. from January 28 to February 21 in Brooklyn. We use the Loring Kestrel roaster for this profile. We have strict guidelines for each of the coffee profiles, and this roast has to pass the development time ratio test as measured in real-time by the roasting software, Cropster. Once it does, it is approved for production.
QUALITY CONTROL
We perform Quality Control via a process of coffee tasting called cupping on all of our production roasts once a week at our roastery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each cupping is conducted by James M. and Ian T. using standard equipment, and is logged by our Q-certified cupper Ian T. All coffees are evaluated on a scoring scale of 0 to 3.
- 3.0 = exceptional roast - exceeds expectations
- 2.5 = on par with profile - matches expectations
- 2.0 = good roast, but 1 or 2 elements could be improved - needs improvement
- 1.5 or lower = failed - do not ship
PRODUCTION AND SHIPPING
Less than 24 hours after roasting, we bag your coffee in our production facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Our production team is led by Anthony and Torie, and supported by a rotating cast of local artists, musicians and independent professionals.
AT YOUR HOME
Brew this coffee with your favorite home brewer and enjoy the taste of incredible coffee! Here are a few tips on how to make the best coffee on each brewer.
View other posts about how to make better coffee at home on our blog Coffeecademy.
