Our 2nd year with Juan Peña's astounding Typica Mejorado! Last year we had Hacienda La Papaya's RESERVE lots. Their processing stations are meticulous and immaculately controlled. So you know this Typica Natural will be Clean and Juicy. Not a funky nor a super fruity forward process but is just the right sweetness and acidity. We get some ripe jammy fruits, some floral notes from the Mejorado, and some lovely sparkling acidity. Great to see the contrast between the Washed and Natural Typica Mejorados.

Typica Mejorado Natural

This Typica Natural has vibrant fruit- forward layered sweetness and bright notes in clean and juicy coffee reminds us of Starfruit, Apricot, Hibiscus, Melon and still some Jammy-ness.

Natural: Sun-dried cherries that develop deep fruit-forward sweetness.

Producer:

Juan Peña, founder of Hacienda La Papaya in Loja, Ecuador, brings a background in agronomy and years of precision farming to every lot he produces. His farm sits at 1,800-2,100 MASL near Saraguro, where covered drying rooms and slow, carefully controlled drying give his coffees exceptional cup quality and consistency. Juan has earned three consecutive Sprudge “Notable Producer” awards, and his coffees regularly place top three in major U.S. brewing and roasting competitions. Beyond his own farm, Juan founded CafExporto, an export company offering hands-on coaching, lab-grade quality control, and market access to a growing network of Ecuadorian producer partners. It’s this dedication to precision, education, and consistency that makes his coffees so highly sought after.

PROCESS

This lot is from Juan's Typica Mejorado trees, fermented in plastic tanks without oxygen for 5 days, or 120 hours. These plastic tanks are kept very clean but fermentation juices are added from previous anaerobic batches, in a similar concept to a sourdough starter, in order to kickstart the fermentation with an existing culture of bacteria and yeast, pushing in the desired direction and leading to greater consistency. This fermentation enhances the mouthfeel and acidity of the Typica, while maintaining an incredibly clean and juicy expression. A testament to Juan's meticulous work throughout the production process.

Process:

The Natural Process is one of the most expressive and demanding post-harvest methods used at CafExporto. It enhances the coffee’s natural sweetness and complexity while preserving the distinctive identity of each variety and origin.

Through precision control and continuous innovation, the teams at Hacienda La Papaya, Yacuri, and Yunguilla transform this traditional method into a process defined by clean execution, balance, and clarity of flavor.

The process begins with selective handpicking of fully ripe cherries, chosen at peak sugar concentration.

Immediately after harvest, the cherries are
rinsed with low-pressure, clean Andean
water to remove dust and impurities. Only cherries in perfect physical condition — uniform colour, density, and texture — are selected for drying.

This first stage ensures that only high-quality fruit enters the fermentation and drying cycle, minimizing microbial risks and off-flavors.

Controlled Drying Phase -
Drying is performed slowly and carefully over 20 to 30 days, depending on the weather conditions and the specific variety.

During this time, the cherries are manually turned 3 to 4 times per day to promote even dehydration and prevent localized overheating.

This level of precision ensures that the natural sugars and fruit esters from the cherry pulp are absorbed by the seed, enhancing the coffee’s sweetness, body, and aromatic intensity.

After the drying phase, the coffee rests in parchment for a stabilization period, allowing internal humidity to balance before milling.

VARIETAL

Mejorado is a unique varietal mainly grown in Ecuador. Colloquially known as Typica Mejorado. It has recently be discovered to be a Bourbon variety cross-pollinated with an Ethiopian Landrace variety. The cup profile is meant to have a more refined sweetness and body and a higher quality acidity compared to the regular Bourbon variety.

We suggest letting the coffee rest for 2-3 wks.

This was our second year of Direct Purchase with CafExporto & Hacienda La Papaya

Transparency:

We paid DIRECT : $42/kg cad

Roasted Cost: $50/kg cad