*Roast days are Tuesday and Thursday. Order by Sunday 11:59 pm EST
for Wednesday shipment or Tuesday 11:59 pm EST for Friday shipment
Sold out
LOS JAPONESES
Specs
Producer Vicente & Miguel Japon
Farm Los Alisos
Region Quiilanga, Loja, Ecuador
Harvest Fall 2024
Varieties San Salvador, Typica & Bourbon
Process Washed
Altitude 1,950 masl
Importer The Coffee Quest
LOS JAPONESES
Producer Profile
Finca Los Alisos is located in Quilanga, Loja and sits at an elevation on 1950 masl. The farm is owned and operated by father and son, Vicente and Miguel Japon. They grow a few varieties: San Salvador, Yellow Bourbon and Typica. The coffee is shade-grown under Alder trees, alongside banana, yucca and corn.
Vicente has been producing coffee for many years and has traditionally sold his coffee as low-grade naturals. It has only been in the past 20 years that washed coffee has been produced in Southern Ecuador. With low coffee prices over the past decade, most of Vicente's children chose to pursue other career avenues. However, his youngest child, Miguel noticed the trend towards specialty coffee and the higher prices that come with it.
In recent years, they invested in a de-pulper, and accepted technical assistance from the government in order to understand the process of producing specialty coffee. From there, Miguel convinced his father to devote part of the harvest to washed lots. With limited infrastructure, they lacked the ability to properly dry a larger part of the harvest. But, with the success of this years' washed lot, they plan on gathering resources to expand their drying beds and to plant 2,000 trees of the Mejorado variety.
Loja
Loja province is located in the South of Ecuador and boasts high Andean altitudes of up to 2,250 masl. Situated between the Amazon basin and the Sechura desert, the province is blessed with many different microclimates including alpine tundras, cloud forest, and jungles. Loja accounts for about 20% of Ecuador's Arabica coffee production, with the region's mountainous geography and diverse microclimates, providing immense potential for high-quality coffee.
Field Blend
Bourbon takes its name from Bourbon Island (now La Réunion), where it was introduced by French missionaries who had taken a few coffee seeds from Yemen in the 1700s. Along with Typica, Bourbon accounts for the basis of most of the world's coffee production today which is made up of Bourbon and Typica descendant varieties. Bourbon is known for its high-quality potential, susceptibility to disease and relatively low yields.
Like Bourbon, Typica made its way out of Yemen by way of colonization. In this case, the Dutch transported seeds to their colonial holdings in South America in 1719, from there the variety made its way to Brazil and then to the West Indies. Eventually, the English brought Typica to the Caribbean, from there, they were sent to Central America, where they were widely dispersed. Typica has very high quality potential at high altitudes in Central America. Unfortunately, it is highly susceptible to disease.
Washed
Fermented 24 hours in cherry, de-pulped and then fermented an additional 48 hours without the pulp. Upon washing, the coffee was dried between 12-15 days, depending on the weather.
TRANSPARENCY
IMPORTER | The Coffee Quest |
FARMGATE PRICINGWhat's this?FOB: "Freight on board," usually the price paid to the coffee exporter for coffee ready to ship. This includes price paid to the producer as well as milling, warehousing and transportation costs plus any intermediaries' fees and export costs. Farmgate: the price paid by the exporter or other buyer to the producer or producer organization. | $-- USD per lb |
SUBTEXT PAID | $5.95 USD per lb |
LOT SIZE | Total lot size of -- kg.. Subtext purchased 950 kg. |
RELATIONSHIP LENGTH | Quest has worked The Japon family for four years and this is the fourth year we have purchased their coffee. |
QUALITY | Subtext cupping score of 86 |