Ecuador Hacienda La Papaya - Geisha

JASMINE | CITRUS | SILKY Hacienda La Papaya sits between 1,800 and 2,200 meters in the Saraguro Formation of Loja, in southern Ecuador, and it’s as much Juan Peña’s laboratory as it is his farm. Rain here falls hard for about two months and then stops, leaving long stretches of cool, dry air — which lets his team time flowering, ripening, and picking with a precision most origins can’t manage. Twelve steady hours of equatorial daylight, warm days and cold nights stretch the cherry’s maturation and concentrate its sugars. The Geisha itself traces back to Panamanian mother plants kept in CafExporto’s genetic bank, re-rooted in Andean clay loam and now grown into something particular to this place. This lot is washed. Cherry is picked selectively over several passes, floated and density-sorted, then pulped and fermented before being washed clean in Andean spring water. Drying takes 9 to 18 days depending on the weather, on raised beds or in sensor-monitored drying rooms, held to a 9–11% moisture target so the green arrives dense and stable. In the cup, we taste jasmine and lemon-lime with a silky body. Country / Ecuador Producer / Juan Peña Location / Saraguro Formation, Loja Process / Washed Variety / Geisha Altitude / 1800–2200 masl