Ecuador — Pepe Jijon Finca Soledad Sydra (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍬 Strawberry Cotton Candy • 🍑 White Peach • 🍊 Apricot • 🌸 Florals

DETAILS

• Producer: Pepe Jijon
• Farm: Finca Soledad
• Region: Intag Valley, Imbabura, Ecuador
• Varietal: Sydra (Sidra)
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,515 MASL
• Collection: Research Rarities
• Size: 150g

INTRO

From Pepe Jijon at Finca Soledad — a washed Sydra from the Research Rarities Collection of POMA Coffee Research, produced on one of the most ecologically extraordinary specialty farms in the world. Biodynamic, regenerative, and cloud-forest grown, this is a coffee of exceptional clarity and elegance. In the cup: strawberry cotton candy, white peach, apricot, plum, and delicate florals, with clover honey sweetness and a silky, tea-like body.

THE PRODUCER

Finca Soledad spans 120 hectares of biodynamic cloud forest in Ecuador's misty Intag Valley — with just 4 hectares devoted to coffee. Founded in 2010 by José Ignacio "Pepe" Jijón — a former mountaineer and Seven Summiteer — the farm began as a reforestation project and has since replanted over 25,000 trees, transforming deforested land into a thriving ecosystem. Pepe and his family champion ethical labour and community care, employing and supporting local single mothers while actively resisting regional mining pressures that threaten the valley's natural environment.

In 2024, Finca Soledad was honoured with Sprudge's Most Notable Producer award — recognition of a farm and a producer whose vision encompasses ecological restoration, community empowerment, and world-class specialty coffee in equal measure. A second farm in Loja is now expanding the project further.

Sydra is a refined Ecuadorian heirloom variety — whether a Bourbon-Typica cross or an Ethiopian Landrace influence remains a subject of ongoing research — that thrives at altitude in Finca Soledad's volcanic cloud forest soils. Selectively bred for resilience and cup quality, it delivers exceptional aromatic complexity while remaining relatively rare and demanding to cultivate. Its elongated beans and tall plants are distinctive; its vibrant, intricate cup character is unlike almost anything else in Ecuadorian specialty coffee.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Finca Soledad involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Sydra cherries hand-picked at peak ripeness 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 🧪 Controlled fermentation — Beans undergo controlled fermentation to develop clarity and sweetness 💧 Thorough washing — Thoroughly washed to cleanly remove all mucilage ☀️ Raised-bed cloud-forest drying — Dried slowly for 10–20 days on raised beds under cloud-forest light, preserving vibrant acidity, floral aromatics, and structure throughout

The slow raised-bed drying under cloud-forest light is the defining step — by drying in the farm's naturally cool, mist-laden environment rather than under direct sun, the Sydra's delicate aromatic compounds and bright acidity are preserved with exceptional clarity, producing the silky, tea-like body and vivid flavour profile that define this lot.

THE CUP

An exceptionally clean and elegantly expressive washed Sydra from one of Ecuador's most celebrated and ecologically purposeful specialty farms — strawberry cotton candy sweetness, white peach and apricot brightness, plum depth, and a delicate floral character in a cup with bright acidity, clover honey sweetness, and a silky, tea-like finish.

Flavour Notes

🍬 Strawberry Cotton Candy 🍑 White Peach 🍊 Apricot 🌸 Florals