Ecuador — Juan Peña, Hacienda La Papaya (Yunguilla Farm), Typica Mejorado (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍋 Grapefruit • 🍑 Apricot • 🍈 Honeydew

DETAILS

• Producer: Juan Peña
• Farm: Yunguilla Farm, Hacienda La Papaya
• Region: Azuay, Ecuador
• Varietal: Typica Mejorado
• Process: Natural
• Altitude: 1,600–1,900 MASL
• Size: 114g / 227g

INTRO

From the Yunguilla Farm — a distinct plot within Juan Peña’s Hacienda La Papaya estate in Ecuador’s Azuay province — this naturally processed Typica Mejorado is a textbook example of clean, expressive fruit. At 1,600–1,900 metres above sea level, the Yunguilla terroir brings a brighter, citrus-leaning character to the variety’s natural sweetness, resulting in a cup that opens with vivid grapefruit before settling into ripe apricot and a lingering honeydew finish.

Juan Peña is one of Ecuador’s most decorated specialty producers, and his methodical approach to natural processing — shaped by the expertise of processing team leader Segundo Cartuche — ensures that each lot from Hacienda La Papaya is as precise as it is flavourful.

THE PRODUCER

Hacienda La Papaya is owned and operated by Juan Peña, one of Ecuador’s most celebrated specialty coffee figures. He has been recognised across numerous top producer awards both nationally and internationally, and his coffees have been used in Barista Championship competitions worldwide. Juan cultivates a range of varieties at Hacienda La Papaya — most notably Typica, Sidra, and Gesha — and is a tireless experimenter, always seeking to refine the next great processing method.

A central pillar of the operation is Segundo Cartuche, team leader for wet processing and drying, who brings scientific rigour and precision measurement into every stage of production. Juan is also an active community member, opening his nursery and micro-mill to neighbouring farmers and supporting the wider La Papaya growing area.

The coffees produced at Hacienda La Papaya begin with genetics — sourced from a robust seed bank — and are tracked meticulously through to export, making the estate one of the most thoroughly documented and quality-controlled farms in Ecuador’s specialty sector.

THE PROCESS

The Natural process at Yunguilla Farm is built around careful cherry selection and controlled drying:

• 🍒 Cherry Harvest — Only the ripest cherries are hand-picked, ensuring consistent sugar development in the fruit.
• ✅ Sorting — Freshly harvested cherry is sorted to remove under-ripes, floaters, and defects before drying begins.
• ☀️ Natural Drying — Whole cherries are dried slowly, allowing the fruit to fully infuse the bean with sweetness and aromatic complexity.
• 🧪 Process Management — Segundo Cartuche’s team applies scientific measurements and monitoring throughout drying to maintain consistency lot to lot.

The result is a natural with the clarity and precision more typical of a washed coffee, yet with the full fruit character that makes naturally processed Ecuadorian lots so compelling.

THE CUP

Bright and sweet in equal measure, this Typica Mejorado opens with a clean grapefruit zing before giving way to ripe apricot and a soft, cooling honeydew sweetness in the finish. It’s an accessible natural with real refinement — equally at home in a pour-over or a batch brew.

Flavour Notes

• 🍋 Grapefruit
• 🍑 Apricot
• 🍈 Honeydew