Coffee came relatively late to Ecuador, arriving in around 1860 in the province of Manabí. Coffee production spread throughout the country and by around 1905 exports to Europe began from the port of Manta. Ecuador is one of the relatively few countries to grow both Arabica and Robusta coffee.
After disease ravaged much of the cocoa crop in 1920s, many farmers began to focus on coffee. Exports began to grow from 1935, and what was 220,000 bags then became around 1.8 million bags by 1985. The world coffee crisis of the 1990s caused an inevitable drop in production, but by 2011 production was back to around one million bags per year. Until the 1970s coffee had been Ecuador’s main export crop, but it was later replaced by oil, shrimps and bananas.
Ecuadorians consume more soluble coffee than they do fresh and, interestingly, the cost of coffee production in Ecuador is high enough that soluble coffee manufacturers there import coffee from Vietnam instead of buying it in Ecuador.
Ecuador does not hold a great reputation for quality coffee. In part this is because forty per cent of its production is Robusta but still most of Ecuador’s exported coffee is relatively low quality. To keep production costs down, much of the crop is dried either on the tree before picking, or on patios, and the term to describe this natural process locally is café en bola. This coffee generally ends up in soluble coffee, and around 83 per cent of the country’s export has been naturally processed. Colombia is one of the main importers because manufacturers of soluble coffee there will pay a better price than local ones. This is because Colombian coffee is expensive due to the strength of the national brand in foreign markets.
While coffee has been produced in Ecuador for a long time, there are those who feel that it is only now worth considering coffee from this country as a hidden gem full of potential. There is certainly the geography and climate to produce extraordinary coffees, and it will be interesting to see if investment from the speciality coffee industry results in some great new coffees hailing from Ecuador in the future.
Ecuadorian coffee crops are not recognized for their quality, as much of the harvest is processed naturally – a method known locally as cafe en bola.
TRACEABILITY
It is rare to find coffee traceable down to a single estate. It is more common to see a lot from a group of producers, or sometimes a lot can be put together by an exporter. Lots like this can come from a large numbers of farmers, but may still be excellent.
TASTE PROFILE
Coffees from Ecuador are beginning to live up to their potential for quality, with sweeter and more complex coffees becoming available. They are made more interesting by a pleasant acidity.
GROWING REGIONS
Population: 16,144,000
Number of 60kg (132lb) bags in 2016: 600,000
Ecuadorean coffees are coming to increasing prominence within the speciality coffee industry, and while lower-lying regions are less likely to produce great coffees, the higher altitude areas hold great potential.
MANABI
Nearly fifty per cent of the Arabica in Ecuador is produced here. But with almost all of the coffee in this region growing below 700m (2,300ft), this area does not have the necessary altitude to produce excellent coffees.
| Altitude: | 500–700m (1,600–2,300ft) |
| Harvest: | April–October |
| Varieties: | Typica, Caturra, Robusta |
LOJA
Around twenty per cent of the Arabica in the country comes from this mountainous region in the south, and from a geographical perspective this region has the greatest potential for quality. Most of the focus from the speciality coffee sector is here. However, the area is susceptible to difficult weather which can, as happened in 2010, result in an increase in damage from coffee berry borer.
| Altitude: | up to 2,100m (6,900ft) |
| Harvest: | June–September |
| Varieties: | Caturra, Bourbon, Typica |
EL ORO
This coastal region in the southwest of the country includes part of the Andes mountain chain and produces less than ten per cent of Ecuador’s annual coffee production. The main focus on coffee is around the town of Zaruma (not to be confused with the region of Zamora).
| Altitude: | 1,200m (3,900ft) |
| Harvest: | May–August |
| Varieties: | Typica, Caturra, Bourbon |
ZAMORA CHINCHIPE
This province is just to the east of Loja and has sufficient altitude to produce great coffee, although only four per cent of the country’s Arabica is produced here. Organic production is relatively common in this area.
| Altitude: | up to 1,900m (6,200ft) |
| Harvest: | May–August |
| Varieties: | Typica, Caturra, Bourbon |
GALAPAGOS
A small amount of coffee is produced on the Galapagos islands, and its proponents claim that the climate there mimics a much higher altitude, allowing higher-quality coffee to be grown. Coffees like this can be extremely expensive, and rarely does the quality in the cup match the price.
| Altitude: | 350m (1,100ft) |
| Harvest: | June–September and December–February |
| Varieties: | Bourbon |