We’re excited to continue our collaboration with Juan Peña, owner of Hacienda La Papaya and CafExporto. Since meeting in Aarhus in 2015, we have purchased many small experimental lots, continuing a conversation through high quality coffee. Over the past few years, Juan has expanded his work, exporting more Hacienda La Papaya coffee to Europe together with us, and starting the CafExporto project, taking over management of two new farms in other parts of Ecuador.

Juan’s hard work and innovation is clear when tasting his coffees; top-quality micro-lots, with wildly varying flavour profiles and expressions. Juan mainly works with Typica ‘Mejorado’, the enhanced version of the varietal, first grown on Nestle’s experimental farms in the north of Ecuador. Juan puts much of his success down to the combination of high yield and incredible cup quality that these Mejorado plants provide. Juan distributed Mejorado seeds from his genetic bank to his two new farms, and transplanted his incredible attention to detail in farm management.