Abel Salinas

Variety: Mejorado

Farm: Finca Arashi

Region: Saragura, Loja, Ecuador

Elevation: 1,900 Meters Above Sea Level

Harvest: August 2024

Process: Washed

Notes: Peaches, floral & honey.

Abel Salinas' Mejorado is a heavy hitter this year. His rendition of this variety is full of notes like stone fruit, honeycomb & citrus. The cup quality is evident right out of the grinder with a grand dulce aromatic bouquet. This is a bigger bodied Mejorado, offering up syrupy notes much in the likeness of a raspberry & nectarine coulis. On the warmer side, this profile is clean and balanced. As the cup cools, the fruit really shines with notes of pluot, honey and orange zest. This is an exceptional cup from one of the best in Ecuador.

Abel planted his first handful of trees in 2016, now he has up to 22,000+ coffee trees on Finca Arashi. He took the title as a Cup of Excellence winner in Ecuador and has now won over coffee connoisseurs with his incredible crop quality and processing consistency. It's hard to continue to produce the high scoring quality that Abel does. With all the fluctuations of weather and climate now, his adaptations are impressive. His coffee is a testament to hard work. Many harvesting/picking passes must be done in order for evenly maturated cherries to make the cut. Abel starts his Mejorado Washed lot by de-pulping and then dry-fermenting the coffee for 24 hours. Upon washing the coffee, he then immediately places it to dry for 15 days in a greenhouse structure. His lots are dried with constant movement to ensure an even drying process until they reach around 10% moisture content.

Mejorado is a cross of an Ethiopian Landrace and Bourbon. This informs the profile quite a bit; with pointed fruit and florality singing, it's also got that big mouthfeel more likely from the Bourbon genetics and terroir. Abel's Mejorado is a pleasure to experience and a brilliant representation of this variety.