Region: Loja
Elevation: 1500-2000 masl
About: Mitad del Mundo, "Middle of the World", is a blend grown in Ecuador's southern highlands, in Loja, where the Equator splits the country neatly in two. It's a landscape of Andean peaks and rainforest, and the altitude, climate and fertile soil here shape a cup full of cacao and fruit.
The growers behind this coffee balance their farms with cattle for milk and meat, carrying on knowledge passed down through generations while always looking to refine their craft. Their coffee is shade-grown within agroforestry systems, alongside nitrogen-fixing trees like guabos and porotillos, protecting local water sources and biodiversity along the way.
Fermentation times here range from 24 to 100 hours across washed lots of Bourbon, Improved Typica, Caturra and Sarchimor. After careful hand-harvesting, the cherries are pulped, fermented and washed before drying, a process that takes anywhere from 15 to 30 days depending on the region. Once dried, the coffee rests before making its way to port.
