Ecuador Maputo & Hakuna Matata | La Perla (Single Origin Filter)

About This Single Origin 

Ecuador Maputo & Hakuna Matata | La Perla

ROAST:  Filter Roast

PROCESS: Washed
REGION: La Perla

ELEVATION: 1350 m

VARIETAL: Typica

CUP: Cranberry juice, Golden Sultanas

Henry and Verena Gaibor, the owners of Maputo and Hakuna Matata, oversee every stage of production at their farms, including wet milling and drying through their own micromill. Their approach is deeply hands-on, precise, and intentional. Their story is as remarkable as the coffees they produce. Henry, originally from Ecuador, is a veteran war-trauma surgeon, while Verena, from Switzerland, worked as a war nurse. The two met in Bujumbura, Burundi, in 1996 while volunteering with Doctors Without Borders during a humanitarian crisis. In 1998, they returned to Ecuador and went on to manage a clinic in Quito for 13 years before choosing to dedicate themselves fully to another shared passion: coffee. That background still shapes the way they work today. Henry brings a highly methodical mindset to coffee production, with the same discipline and focus he once applied to medicine. Verena’s calm, efficient management is equally evident, reflecting the skill and composure developed through years of nursing in high-pressure environments. Together, they have built an operation defined by care, consistency, and detail. From picking to processing to drying, every step is handled with exceptional precision. Café Imports senior green-coffee buyer Piero Cristiani has described the Gaibors as producing “some of the best coffees I have ever tasted.” Across their farms, varieties are clearly separated and carefully managed, including Typica, Bourbon, SL-28, Sidra, Kaffa, and Caturra. Their coffee is grown in La Perla, Nanegal, in Ecuador’s Pichincha province. Although the farms sit at a relatively modest elevation of around 1,350 meters, the area’s unique microclimate plays a major role in cup quality. Humidity is high, mist often settles over the fields in the afternoon, and the temperature drops noticeably at night. This combination creates ideal conditions for producing coffees with distinctive elegance and complexity. This is now MANTA RAY’s third year purchasing this coffee, and this year’s lot feels especially expressive — showing even more cranberry character and golden sultana notes than before.