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Ecuador

Editorial illustration · not a verified photograph of this location

A small but rising origin where coffee grows across an extreme range — from southern Andean valleys in Loja to the cloud forests of the Intag in the north, plus the famed Galápagos plantings. High altitudes and newer variety plantings have put Ecuadorian lots at specialty's experimental frontier.

History

Ecuador's coffee history dates to the 19th century, but the crop long sat in the shadow of its larger neighbors. The specialty turnaround came in the 2010s as producers in Loja and Pichincha adopted fine-variety plantings and refined processing, turning tiny national volumes into some of the world's most sought-after microlots. Ecuador is also one of the few origins producing both Arabica and Robusta domestically.

TagsEcuador South America Typica Mejorado Bourbon Sidra SL34 Typica Caturra Washed Natural Honey Anaerobic Loja Pichincha Imbabura

Growing regions

Pichincha

Province

Pichincha is a province in the northern highlands of Ecuador, characterized by its volcanic soil and high-altitude terrain. Coffee farms in this region typically operate at elevations ranging from 1,400 to 2,100 metres above sea level. The area benefits from a unique microclimate that supports the cultivation of specialty Arabica varieties such as Typica Mejorado, Sidra, and Geisha. These conditions, combined with careful processing techniques, contribute to a flavor profile often described as floral, citrus, and smooth.

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Saraguro

Coffee-growing region

Saraguro is a coffee-producing area in southern Ecuador. SEY’s 2026 releases from Manuel and Miguel Dota document washed Sidra lots grown at 1,950 meters, while its Felix Morocho release documents Typica Mejorado at 1,900 meters. These are verified lot details, not claims about every coffee produced in the region.

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Imbabura

Province

Imbabura is an Ecuadorian province that includes Finca Soledad in the Intag Valley. SEY identifies the Jijón family’s coffee parcel here at 1,515 meters: four hectares of coffee within a 120-hectare cloud-forest property managed with organic and biodynamic practices.

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