Maputo and Hakuna Matata are two farms owned and operated by Henry and Verena Gaibor. Before we talk about the quality of this coffee, we would like to indulge for a moment into the romantic backstory of these two producers. They met in Burundi, 1998, during a humanitarian crisis whilst they were both volunteering for Doctors Without Borders. Verena was a war nurse and Henry was a war-trauma surgeon. After the crisis they returned to Henry’s home in Quito, Ecuador, where they established and ran a clinic together for 13 years. One day, however, they decided to pour these efforts into coffee. Not only do they run their farms but they also control their own wet-milling and drying. They grow Typica, Bourbon, SL28, Sidra, Kaffa and Caturra. One can only imagine the attention to detail, care and effort that is required of humanitarian aid and their clinic, and all this was essentially redirected towards their coffee. No wonder the coffee is such high quality! 

The farms are also located in the province of Pichincha. This is a region known for a cool climate, especially with cool nights, along with volcanoes and rose farms that inform the soil. Pichincha is considered moderate in elevation for an Ecuadorian coffee at 1350 metres above sea level. However, its microclimate is known for misty afternoon clouds that hang over the coffee trees, providing a relatively high humidity and an average temperature of 18.3C. In general, arabica coffee plants are best suited to a window of 15-24C. Warm days and cool nights are precisely what you look for to produce great coffee cherries. 

Although Ecuador faces its own challenges with incentivising the coffee industry, we are excited and optimistic about its future. It is very much a treasure to roast and serve such delicate profiles. In the cup we have been finding white florals, pear and grapefruit.