Coffee Story
Located in Loja, the oldest coffee region in Ecuador, and grown near a Paltas, Las Guas is run by Felix Capa Valdivieso and his son-in-law, William Miguel Celi. They manage the farm together, but each owns their lots, Guajalanche and Gualataquillo. The farm sits at an elevation of approximately 1850 MASL, and both lots are divided across 3 hectares of land. Within those 3 hectares, they grow primarily traditional Typica, Caturra, and Yellow Catucai (a cross between Catuai and Icatu). All coffee is processed the same way at the wet mill; they leave the coffee for 24 hours in cherry, de-pulp it and then dry ferment it for another 30-36 hours. After washing the coffees, they are dried in a greenhouse for 10-12 days.
The farm originally belonged to Felix, who describes himself as a "coffee fanatic." Felix lives on the farm and has been there for nearly 30 years! However, through the years, he became less motivated to produce coffee due to the low prices on the commodity market. Felix soon learned that he could receive even higher pay by focusing on quality, and since 2017, he has been working with Capamaco Trading to commercialize his coffee at specialty prices. This is the second year our importing partner, Coffee Quest, has worked with Felix and William, and we're both super excited to see what future harvests have in store.
