Our latest Cupping Room Series Coffee is a terrific coffee produced by Fausto Romo in Pinchincha Province, Ecuador. This variety, Sidra, is unique to Ecuador, and has a really fascinating flavor profile. For more information, check it out here.
Coffee is a drink of discovery. Any coffee lover can likely recall more than one moment of revelation in their coffee-drinking journeys, something that sparked a desire to discover more.
The Cupping Room Series celebrates that spirit of adventure. The physical cupping room is the place where so much discovery happens. It’s the place where we continue our endless hunt for all of coffee’s undiscovered delights. So, with these special Cupping Room Series coffees, we’re extending you a special invitation to join in the adventure with us.
This latest coffee from producer Fausto Romo is one of those special finds that we are thrilled to share with you. Romo has owned his farm, Finca Carolina — named after his daughter — for 27 years. But, like many farmers in Ecuador, only in the last few years did he venture into producing specialty coffee, which he grows under the shade of a mixture of fruit trees on his small farm in the Pinchincha Province in the north part of the country.
Ecuador is a challenging place for growing coffee, namely for its wide elevation variances and its placement at the equator, requiring year-round harvesting. Climate change has introduced even more difficulties, making it harder to keep coffee trees healthy and get coffees dry quickly enough. When these challenges are overcome, though, Ecuador has delivered some of the most stunning coffees on the planet.
Fausto Romo has done just that, using the uniquely Ecuadorian variety of Sidra, which has only recently come onto the specialty coffee scene. This variety is hardier and more resistant to diseases like coffee leaf rust that have devastated so many crops. However, it requires a lot of care to reveal its fullest potential. Romo intentionally harvests ripe cherries, then washes them five times over before carefully drying them for 15-18 days. His dedication shines in this coffee. The first time we tasted it in our cupping room, we were mesmerized by its intricate, subtle complexities. With this wonderful lot, Fausto Romo invites us to discover just what Ecuadorian coffee has to offer.