Map of Ecuador

If you were not aware, Galapagos Islands are the property of Ecuador. Recently, there has been an awful lot of Galapagos coffee, much of it Organic certified, being offered by brokers. Unfortunately, I have not cupped a lot that did not possess a defect in the cup, some very strong defects quite often. I am gald it is organic coffee, but am also concerned about the ecology of coffee production in a sensitive environment. I am also a little concerned that all the coffee from Galapagos truly is from the Island, since Ecuador grows a considerable amount of coffee on the mainland and has some difficulty selling it as specialty coffee. Perhaps I can resolve these concerns some time in the future, but, while initially an interesting offer, the samples have yet to possess positive cup character.

Coffee has a long history in Ecuador: It was introduced in the early 19th century and became its main export in the early 20th century. But coffee from Ecuador has never been included in the list of Specialty Coffee origins, mostly because of poor harvesting and processing practices. As other Ecuadorian exports (banana, oil, shrimp) exceeded coffee in export importance, hope that the quality of the coffee would improved became less. They managed to continue to ship low grade arabica and robusta coffees, finding a market among the institutional and commecial roasters of the U.S. and Europe who are more concerned with price than cup quality. But coffee employed about 15% of the rural population.

Ecuador has everything it takes to grow great coffee. Positioned between Colombia and Peru, the interior mountain ranges have plenty of altitude, weather patterns, and ideal soil for quality coffee production. But a great coffee can be ruined at any stage in the process, from the tree to the cup. Many of the problems are with careful adherence to quality standards in the wet-processing, drying, resting (reposo) and then dry-milling of the coffee. A bit too much fermentation in the wet mill tanks, a rain storm drenching the coffee when it is on the drying patios, moist low-altitude conditions during the reposo, or badly adjusted dry-mill equipment can all ruin a wonderful coffee. Poor infrastucture, delays in shipment, tainted shipping containers ... there is one way to produce good coffee and a thousand ways to ruin it! So the new efforts by the Ecuadorian Agriculture Dewpartment and farmer Co-operatives focus on education, improved equipment, and adherence to high standards.

I did travel to Ecuador in September 2009 - check out the travelogue section of our Coffee Library page for the photos.

Loja, Ecuador at night.

Young coffee plants, oddly called "soldiers"

Luz Chichay and Flora Bermeo, farmers from El Batan.