Ecuador Golden Cup | Finca Lugmapata Sarchimor Washed | Single Origin Coffee Beans

Ecuador Golden Cup 1st Place - Chimborazo Province - Finca Lugmapata - Sarchimor - Washed

Coffee Details

Region: Central region, Chimborazo Province

Variety: Sarchimor

Producer: Finca Lugmapata Enrique Merino

Altitude: 1,700 meters

Grade: High altitude washed premium (SHB)

Soil: Volcanic soil (Volcanic clay)

Flavor description: Red plum, lively acidity, cotton candy sweetness, cream, honey mixed with spice finish

Ecuador Coffee Industry Background

Ecuador's coffee cultivation area reaches 305,000 hectares, with Arabica accounting for 68% and Robusta for 32%. Coffee, cocoa and bananas are Ecuador's three major traditional crops; they provide farmers with income and the country with foreign exchange, and they are also important for employment and social stability.

After international coffee prices fell sharply around 2000, Ecuador's coffee cultivation gradually shrank and its share of world production declined. By 2009 Ecuador's coffee production accounted for only 1% of the world total. Its coffee exports, however, gradually increased, mainly because Ecuador's instant coffee processing industry is well developed and processes imported foreign coffee for re-export alongside its own.

Ecuador's coffee plantations are generally not large. About 80% of coffee farmers cultivate less than 5 hectares, 13% between 5 and 10 hectares, and only 7% more than 10 hectares. According to the statistics, of the national cultivation area of about 300,000 hectares, 20% of coffee plantation land is illegally occupied. Data from Ecuador's Coffee Association shows that the country's most important coffee-producing area is MANABI Province, while Imbabura Province accounts for a relatively low share of cultivation.

Domestic coffee trade in Ecuador is very distinctive: buyers travel out to individual small farmers to negotiate purchases. These intermediaries work tirelessly, moving from village to village and visiting farmers one by one to agree on prices. The purchased coffee is carried to a few mills for processing, then passed to export traders or processors. Ecuador's coffee processing industry sits mainly in the three cities of Huayquil, Quito and Manta, with only a few towns keeping traditional small-scale manual processors.

Finca Lugmapata Estate

This batch from Finca Lugmapata is owned by the Enrique Merino family and has been farmed for over 100 years. It was started by Enrique's great-grandfather. When it passed to the second generation the land was divided and inherited, and only Enrique's father did not sell his land, continuing to grow coffee. By the time it passed to the third generation, to Enrique Merino in 2018, the estate covered 222 hectares. That same year Finca Lugmapata won first place in Ecuador's Golden Cup competition, Taza Dorada. The estate hopes to use that success to further raise the reputation and quality of the Chimborazo region.

Taza Dorada Competition

Taza Dorada (Golden Cup) is Ecuador's coffee competition, where specialty green beans produced by small farmers are judged by national and international judges. It can be seen as Ecuador's COE, though unlike the COE system, Taza Dorada has no program to support winners after the competition, and the award-winning green coffee batches are almost entirely booked up by discerning buyers. This year 37 small farmers won awards, and this particular batch ranked 15th.

Ecuador's coffee cultivation is now mostly in the hands of small farmers, who account for over 90%, and the farming techniques are not as advanced as in Central American coffee countries, with lower yields. It is also rarely imported in Taiwan. Through the Ecuador Golden Cup competition, coffee lovers can taste this award-winning batch of high-quality Ecuadorian coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since this is a washed coffee, it is worth understanding what the process does and what it pairs with. Washed processing is a traditional method that uses water: typically flotation, depulping, a soak and ferment to remove the pectin, washing or further soaking, then drying and hulling to give the green bean. Because the beans sit in water for a long time, chemical changes use up a large share of the monosaccharides (fructose and glucose), which lowers the coffee's sugar content while increasing various organic acids. That is why washed coffee tends to keep more of the bean's own aroma while showing bright fruit acidity, a clean profile and a fresh character.

One of the clearest expressions of the method is FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Cherry Tomato, a Kenyan specialty washed coffee built around vivid cherry tomato and smoked plum acidity with a full, juicy body. Kenya is especially good at double washed processing, repeating the washing step, and the repeated rinsing and soaking draw out the juice quality to the fullest: cherry tomato, smoked plum, snow pear, black plum and brown sugar aromas, sweet-tart and juicy. It suits pour-over, cold brew and espresso and is a favourite of many coffee drinkers.

For a softer, more balanced washed cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 shows the other side of the method. Jamaica is an island climate with shorter sunshine than many origins, and washed processing removes the skin, pulp and pectin before drying to reduce the moisture left around the bean, which shortens drying time and yields bright, low-defect beans. In the cup it is rich and pure, with hazelnut, cream, chocolate and caramel notes and a balanced body in which no single flavour stands out or is missing.