Ecuador — Pepe Jijón Finca Soledad Sidra (Wave Honey)

Tastes Like — 🌼 White Flowers • 🍵 Oolong Tea • 🥭 Mango • 🍇 Red Grapes

DETAILS

• Producer: Pepe Jijón
• Farm: Finca Soledad
• Region: Imbabura, Ecuador
• Varietal: Sidra
• Process: Wave Honey
• Elevation: 1,550 masl

INTRO From Pepe Jijón's Finca Soledad in Ecuador's Intag Valley — a truly lovely Sidra, floral and tea-like with an aroma of white flowers, sipping like a delicate oolong tea. Anaerobic fermentation shines through in tropical mango notes and a surprising touch of red grape. So pretty and complex, it drinks like a black-label coffee. In the cup: white flowers, oolong tea, mango, and red grapes.

THE PRODUCER Before settling on a coffee farm, Pepe Jijón spent his days traversing mountains — an avid mountaineer and guide who explored some of the world's most impressive ranges, even completing a solo expedition of the "Seven Summits" before finding his next great adventure in coffee. He found a soft place to land in the Intag Valley, nestled among the sloping mountains of Imbabura, Ecuador. Today he nurtures about four hectares at Finca Soledad, cultivating exceptional lots across several varieties, including this Sidra.

THE PROCESS Whole cherries, handpicked at peak ripeness, undergo an initial fermentation in sealed tanks for 72 hours. They're then moved to a dark room for very slow drying — a process that can take up to 50 days, with temperature strategically manipulated throughout.

The extended 50-day dark-room drying is the defining step — it's what allows the anaerobic fermentation's tropical mango and red grape character to develop fully alongside Sidra's naturally floral, tea-like base.

THE CUP Floral and delicate — white flowers and oolong tea-like structure up front, with tropical mango and a surprising red grape note coming through from the anaerobic fermentation. Complex and refined, punching well above its price point.

Flavour Notes 🌼 White Flowers 🍵 Oolong Tea 🥭 Mango 🍇 Red Grapes