Loja, Ecuador is single origin specialty coffee country

Loja, Ecuador is becoming famous around the world for producing award winning single-origin coffee. We know Loja’s coffee tastes great, but what does single-origin actually mean? On North American and European coffee shop menus and in high-end grocery stores we see brands of beans that list “Ethiopia” or “Guatemala” as sources. It is true that most of the coffee grown in one country can be quite good, however, single origin in the minds of coffee importers and exporters denotes specialty coffees from a particular region of a producer country, a collective of growers within that region, a single estate or hacienda, or an individual specialty farmer selling micro-lots of beans.

Lojanos have always grown coffee on their land no matter how small the holding. Prominence for Loja coffee began with a sizable 20th century growing boom. In Loja’s Sierra Mountains, global food conglomerates like Nestle encouraged fast and cheap crops of inferior bulk Robusta beans to supply their instant crystals production. After the boom went ‘bust’ Lojanos in this century put their age-old coffee cultivating knowledge to use and started growing small batches of high quality single-origin Arabica beans.

Why is single-origin coffee so desirable you might ask? Besides delivering a novel taste experience, single origin coffee can be traced back to the grower or growers. This will eliminate the temptation for some dealers to pad their production with lower ranked beans and increase their margin without the buyer’s knowledge. With single-origin coffee you know what you are drinking and can appreciate its distinct flavor profile, which is important considering the record prices of premium coffee these days. Single origin brews allow a greater variation of taste experiences, unlike blends which can be high quality but also more homogenous.

Coffee traders' understanding of a coffee’s source and contact with the growers will also compel them to pay a fair price for the product thus benefiting the local farmers and the area in which they operate. Further, coffee is deeply affected by what is happening in the surrounding area. Coffee is an absorbent substance and will take on the characteristics of desirable features of its growing habitat such as cacao or oranges interplanted with the coffee trees. Unfortunately, coffee can also be ruined by nearby industrial toxins or poor storage and processing practices. Single-origin coffee with great taste and small specialty growers with good reputations are like gold for exporters and this is exactly what Loja is known for.

If you are ready to explore Loja’s coffee cultivation and experience great taste either at the source or in one of Loja’s world class cafes, contact Life In Loja to arrange a custom visit to the region’s coffee plantations or a crawl through the city’s finest coffee shops. Coffee culture in Loja is now one of the ultimate gastronomic events not to be missed by enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.

You can arrange your exploration of Loja's coffee culture with a knowledgeable English/Spanish interpreter guide on Tripadvisor, or contact Life in Loja by email, or phone/WhatsApp at 593-098-674-5994.

Life In Loja is registered under Ecuador’s department of intellectual rights as of 2022.