bosque nublado - Intelligentsia Coffee

INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE
FEBRUARY 2014
A mound of cherry at El Piquín - Coopedota R.L.
View of the towering Andes from one of the farms.
BOSQUE NUBLADO
ECUADOR
We are thrilled to offer our first coffee from
Ecuador. Grown in the Golondrinas Cloud
Forest in the Carchi Province near the border
of Colombia, this coffee is a testament to the
hard work and efforts of the ACBONUG Cooperative and our exporting partner Ena Galleti.
Ena’s family has owned a small farm in the
region for over 100 years and it’s clear by her
enthusiasm and commitment that she is deeply
attached to the land its people.
The coop consists of 90 farms nestled in the
Andean cloud forest. It is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, home to 500 species
of plants and 400 species of animals. Conditions are ideal to produce exemplary coffee:
elevation, varietal, soil and perfect weather.
Despite the natural beauty and diversity, illegal
timbering and cattle ranching have severely
deforested the land.
Ena created the Coop in 2009 to promote
more sustainable, quality focused coffee production. The coop’s members receive financial
and technical assistance, as well as access to
seeds, seedlings, and equipment. They have
created reforestation programs with the local
communities and its members are encouraged to utilize organic practices to prevent
further erosion and soil depletion. They wet
process their cherry at a small mill near the
farms and dry the coffee on raised beds which
are made with handles so they can be easily
moved indoors or under cover if the weather is
not cooperating – any moisture on the drying
coffee could ruin the lot and the seeds need
constant attention throughout the 10 day
period. After drying, the coffee is transported
to the capitol city of Quito, where it is hulled,
rested, cupped and hand-sorted before export
at Ena’s pristine dry mill.
Ecuador is a relatively small player in Specialty; coffee has traditionally taken a backseat to more profitable exports like banana
and oil. This exciting project in the Northern
Andes is proof that there is a bright future for
coffee in Ecuador.
Written by Jay Cunningham | Sales Executive, Green Coffee Buyer
ACBONUG
Cooperative
Carchi
Bourbon, Typica,
Caturra, Castillo
1,200–1,600
masl
May–July
PRODUCER
REGION
CULTIVAR
ELEVATION
HARVEST
top right: Ena’s dry mill in Quito. lower: Raised beds drying coffee at the ACBONUG wet mill, Carchi.