Spotlight on...Ecuador Experimental Honey
Carrie Masek
Ecuador is one of our favorite coffee origins and one of the hardest to find. Ecuador produces less specialty grade green coffee than than the Island of Hawaii, and only a small amount of beans from Ecuador make it to this country. The ones that do are simply amazing. Though the specific flavors vary year-to-year, the coffee always brews into a cup that’s smooth and creamy, balanced and complex, sweet, rich and lively, with nuanced fruit notes and a lovely lingering finish. Yum!
Back in January, we put in an order for new crop Ecuador. Last month, we learned that due to Covid, the delivery of new crop Ecuador would be “very delayed.” We have bags coming, but right now, we have no idea when we’ll get them.
That’s why we were so excited to find and acquire Ecuador Experimental Honey from Galo Morales and his family’s farm, Finca Cruz Loma. With the normal new crop Ecuador so delayed, it's a rare treat to have found this rare treat of an Ecuador coffee.
Galo Morales and his family own and run Finca Cruz Loma, a 175 acre farm that grows sugar cane, corn, beans, and oranges as well as some of the best coffee in Ecuador. Their coffee has won many awards for excellence, including the 2020 Tazo Dorado, Ecuador’s version of the Cup of Excellence. This year, in their constant pursuit of ever more delicious coffee, the Morales family took a very small portion of their green coffee beans and processed them using an experimental, anaerobic honey process, instead of one the more common methods of processing green coffee beans like washed or natural process. They packaged this coffee, Ecuador Experimental Honey, in 22 lb boxes. To put that in perspective, almost all green coffee beans are sold in 60-70 Kg bags (approx. 134 lb-154 lbs).
When we heard about the Morales family’s Experimental Honey coffee, we just had to try it. We roasted the green beans to a light, City roast, level and brewed it in a French Press. The coffee blew us away! We loved it from the rich aroma that combines the scent of cherries, chocolate and vanilla, to the lingering fudgy chocolate and spice finish. The first sip is very lively with a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. It melts into a lush, balanced and complex coffee featuring rich chocolate notes and an avalanche of fruit flavors—peach, apricot, citrus, bright berry and tart cherry—all sweetened with vanilla and sweet spice.
We were only able to buy enough Ecuador Experimental Honey for 15 roasts and have already sold seven. If you’re interested in this outstanding coffee, please don’t wait to try it.
Do you enjoy coffee from Ecuador? If so, please join the conversation and share your thoughts on the Facebook thread or in a comment on this blog. Or, if you'd like to share your opinions with the wider world, leave us a coffee review on Google or on your favorite review site. Not only do we value your opinions, but reviews help more people find us. Help us connect coffee lovers to fresh, quality coffee!
We wish all our customers good health and happiness.
~ Carrie, Paul and all of us at Coffee by the Roast
Click here for more information on Finca Cruz Loma and their Experimental Honey process.