Juan Peña - Mejorado

Farm: Hacienda La Papaya

Variety: Mejorado

Altitude: 1,800-2,000 Meters Above Sea Level

Process: Fully Washed

Harvest: August 2024

Notes: Bright apple-pear sweetness, grape, delicate florals.

The result of Juan Peña's fastidious efforts at Hacienda La Papaya are blooming with disctinct clarity this year. This Mejorado has a bright and firm acidity. The articulation of the coffee's notes are crystaline from hot to cool. Also, this is a fun one to experience as the coffee rests off the roast. A vibrant and accessible Mejorado, one to note on the hints of Landrace tropicality with a rounded Bourbon-esque feel. Other notes include: plum, sweet florals, pluot, passionfruit & ripe tropical accents. Hyper complex and lively.

Hacienda La Papaya has been celebrated for innovation and quality amongst roasters & coffee-people for over a decade now. La Papaya's coffee plants sprawl out over 28 acres high in the mountains. Juan is a legend, developing the production each year with new tech and insights. This year, he ran this coffee through the density sorter 5x which has produced a super clean and consistent cup. He is careful and methodical in his processing. Throughout the processing of the cherries, the team keep temps stable and target moisture-content exact, which makes for a more uniform roast. It's a pricy lot, totally worth it given what we get. 

Mejorado is colloquially being called "Typica Mejorado", though it is in fact a Bourbon crossed with a Landrace. This variety has often been confused with the likes of Typica (which has much different profile and completely different variety altogether). Mejorado has mainly been grown in Ecuador and has distinct terroir impartations and differences given where it's grown. If you had Abel Salinas' Mejorado, this will help illuminate the differences and affect of terroir on a cultivar's character.

Altogether, this coffee is a treat however you brew this one.  ¡Saludos!