Twelve years of learning and not neglecting costs, the secrets of the Cruz Loma farm to produce the best coffee of 2021

Twelve years of preparation, constant learning in the elaboration of specialty coffees and not neglecting production costs are the secrets that led to the fact that the special coffee from the Cruz Loma farm, located in the northwest of the province of Pichincha, became the best in Ecuador and one of the best paid in the world in 2021.

After this success, Galo Morales, producer and professional taster and owner of the farm, spoke with Diario EL UNIVERSO and recalled the path traveled.

He commented that it was in 2009 when the farm began with the selection of seeds, and after six years start the coffee plantation project in 2015.

“Always with the objective of obtaining a quality product by carrying out all the standards to produce coffee, since 2009 there has been constant education by the technical team and quality control of the farm”, reiterated the producer, who recalled that started with 2 hectares since 2015, it reached 6 hectares in production in 2021, with growth to approximately 20 hectares.

The fruits of that work came in 2021 when, with a percentage of 91.4 out of 100, Cruz Loma’s coffee won the Golden Cup contest last October and then, at the end of November, through an electronic auction, it received $ 100 per pound; a value that broke the 2020 record reached by the Hacienda La Florida de Sozoranga, in the province of Loja, of the brothers Ramiro and Fabricio Coronel, who received $ 70.25 per pound from specialized South Korean coffee importers.

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Cruz Loma’s coffee was bought by establishments such as Paradise, Chromatic Coffe and Coffee Roaster from the United States, Hatch Cofee from Canada and 4 Arts Zero Defect Coffees from Taiwan.

But what is a specialty coffee? Pablo Pinargote, general manager of the Ecuadorian National Coffee Association (Anecafé), organizer of the Golden Cup contest, which was born in 2007, explained that it is a differentiated product in quality based on a score higher than 80 on a scale of over 100 according to international parameters of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA, for its acronym in English), which highlights the profiles such as aroma and flavor of coffee by areas or producing farms.

For Morales, one of the most outstanding differences for Cruz Loma is the quality of each of the coffees that goes hand in hand with the work of each producer. However, he assured that the important thing to produce coffee is to be clear and attentive to production costs, noting that they are closely linked to productivity, the quality of the coffee and the sale price.

For the first time a pound of a special Ecuadorian coffee was paid for 100 dollars in an international auction

“Since the production costs are clear, the batch to be made depends a lot so that the cost rises or is maintained, the more demanding the production of a batch will increase its cost, which depends on its productivity or size,” he revealed. the coffee grower.

Regarding production costs, Pinargote assured that in Ecuador they are very high and varied by region, mainly due to the low productivity of coffee plantations and also to factors such as high fertilization costs and then harvest harvesting.

“This is why a large part of our products see the path of the specials to be able to get ahead,” analyzed Pinargote, who estimated that around 60,000 hectares of coffee are produced in the country, of which 30% is dedicated to specials.

The director of Anecafé considered that currently more than 50% of coffee producers produce a part of their coffee as special, mainly to participate in contests such as the one organized by Anecafé, Taza Dorada, which for Pinargote, like coffee Ecuadorian, it also differs from those organized by the countries of the region and the world.

“We identify ourselves in the world because we are one of the few countries that has a contest as a Golden Cup with its own national identity without international franchises, which is very well seen and recognized by the largest buyers of specialty coffees in the world,” he said. the general manager of Anecafé.

Morales highlighted the importance of these contests, since in 2019 it won as the best coffee in Quito and the best coffee in the national barista competition; In 2020 he reached third place in the Golden Cup.

“Every year we seek to compete in national and international competitions, it is very motivating for us to be at the forefront of the market and always be looking for technological improvements to be more efficient and sustainable,” said Morales, who assured that after the results of Taza Dorada and the last electronic auction, the commercial expectations for his farm are very motivating and gratifying, “both because of the work, the work that is carried out year after year to consecutively maintain the quality of each batch that is produced and because of the international markets, which each once they recognize Ecuador as a source for purchases of specialty coffees ”.

Pichincha farm coffee won the Golden Cup contest

This, because Finca Cruz Loma measures its production of special coffee with exports and pounds sold according to their quality and that this percentage of coffee sales does not fall below 65% of its total productivity, which is approximately 1,500 kg per hectare.

Morales explained that the brands that Finca Cruz Loma produces depend on each batch of coffee or by the process that each one entails, for example: Honey, Natural, washed, among others, which reach markets such as the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. .