finca maputo
FINCA MAPUTO ECUADOR
ECUADOR IS A VERY SMALL SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY THAT SHARES A BORDER WITH TWO VERY BIG PRODUCING ONES, COLOMBIA AND PERU. HIGH WAGES, LARGE INTERNAL CONSUMPTION OF INSTANT COFFEE, SMALL AVERAGE FARM SIZE AND ACTUAL SIZE OF THE COUNTRY ITSELF ARE SOME OF THE MANY REASONS WHY ECUADOR STRUGGLES TO COMPETE WITH THEIR BIG COFFEE PRODUCING NEIGHBOURS. VERY LITTLE IS EXPORTED FROM ECUADOR EACH YEAR AND EVEN THEN IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE BEST COFFEES AND EXPORT THEM SUCCESSFULLY. We found this coffee while visiting late last year and judging the Taza Dorada. Most of the Andean growing region in Ecuador is incredibly picturesque and when standing at the top of Finca Maputo quite literally in the clouds and eyeing the smoking volcano in the distance you get a sense of how special and beautiful this farm is. Maputo is located in La Perla – which is in the North-West region of Pichincha province to the north of Ecuador nearing the Colombian border. After cupping this coffee blind on many occasions we were very surprised to see the farm’s average altitude at only 1350masl. After spending some time with owners Henry and Verena Gaibor we learned a little bit more about the microclimate in this region and how they were able to produce such high scoring coffees that outscored some much higher grown coffees. Close to the Equator, humidity levels are high and most of the farm is covered in a hanging mist each afternoon (similar to Veer Attikan in India) which makes you feel like you are quite literally in the clouds. Warm temperatures during the day help with photosynthesis and sugar production while cool night temperatures slow down cellular respiration resulting in more sucrose left in the coffee. After two days of cupping – we selected our two favorite farms in the competition and they just so happened to be right next to each other which again says something about the unique micro-climate. Maputo is owned and operated by Henry and Verena Gaibor. Henry, a veteran surgeon and war doctor and Verena a midwife; they met in Bujumbura, Burundi while volunteering for Doctors Without Borders and United Nations. They have since retired and dedicated their lives to producing some of the best coffees I’ve tasted out of Ecuador. Henry is extremely methodical with his coffee production and is just as dedicated and passionate as he once was with his profession. He is doing everything right when it comes to picking, processing, and drying and has his farm divided into different lots with different varieties (Typica, SL28, Bourbon, Kaffa, and Caturra).
TASTING NOTES Herbal tea, creamy texture, lavender, candied orange.
COFFEE INFORMATION Country
Ecuador
Region
La Perla / Pichincha
Farm
Maputo
Varietal
Typica
Processing
Washed
Drying
Raised beds
Dried on raised beds
ECUADOR IS A VERY SMALL SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY THAT SHARES A BORDER WITH TWO VERY BIG PRODUCING ONES, COLOMBIA AND PERU. HIGH WAGES, LARGE INTERNAL CONSUMPTION OF INSTANT COFFEE, SMALL AVERAGE FARM SIZE AND ACTUAL SIZE OF THE COUNTRY ITSELF ARE SOME OF THE MANY REASONS WHY ECUADOR STRUGGLES TO COMPETE WITH THEIR BIG COFFEE PRODUCING NEIGHBOURS. VERY LITTLE IS EXPORTED FROM ECUADOR EACH YEAR AND EVEN THEN IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE BEST COFFEES AND EXPORT THEM SUCCESSFULLY. We found this coffee while visiting late last year and judging the Taza Dorada. Most of the Andean growing region in Ecuador is incredibly picturesque and when standing at the top of Finca Maputo quite literally in the clouds and eyeing the smoking volcano in the distance you get a sense of how special and beautiful this farm is. Maputo is located in La Perla – which is in the North-West region of Pichincha province to the north of Ecuador nearing the Colombian border. After cupping this coffee blind on many occasions we were very surprised to see the farm’s average altitude at only 1350masl. After spending some time with owners Henry and Verena Gaibor we learned a little bit more about the microclimate in this region and how they were able to produce such high scoring coffees that outscored some much higher grown coffees. Close to the Equator, humidity levels are high and most of the farm is covered in a hanging mist each afternoon (similar to Veer Attikan in India) which makes you feel like you are quite literally in the clouds. Warm temperatures during the day help with photosynthesis and sugar production while cool night temperatures slow down cellular respiration resulting in more sucrose left in the coffee. After two days of cupping – we selected our two favorite farms in the competition and they just so happened to be right next to each other which again says something about the unique micro-climate. Maputo is owned and operated by Henry and Verena Gaibor. Henry, a veteran surgeon and war doctor and Verena a midwife; they met in Bujumbura, Burundi while volunteering for Doctors Without Borders and United Nations. They have since retired and dedicated their lives to producing some of the best coffees I’ve tasted out of Ecuador. Henry is extremely methodical with his coffee production and is just as dedicated and passionate as he once was with his profession. He is doing everything right when it comes to picking, processing, and drying and has his farm divided into different lots with different varieties (Typica, SL28, Bourbon, Kaffa, and Caturra).
TASTING NOTES Herbal tea, creamy texture, lavender, candied orange.
COFFEE INFORMATION Country
Ecuador
Region
La Perla / Pichincha
Farm
Maputo
Varietal
Typica
Processing
Washed
Drying
Raised beds
Dried on raised beds
