Country: Ecuador
Region: Pichincha
Farm: Finca Cruz Loma
Process: Traditional Natural
Variety: Typica, Sidra
Harvest: June-September
Altitude: 1450 metres
Sangria, blackberry, vanilla and jasmine
Galo Morales has made a name for himself - becoming the first place champion of Ecuador’s national quality competition, the Taza Dorada (Golden Cup), as well as appearing in various cupping competitions in Ecuador and elsewhere.
Finca Cruz Loma is a family operation, with Galo and his daughters driving the technical aspects of production while Galo’s wife Maria Alexandra handles marketing and promotion. “We work in a team as a family, and we all fulfill a critical role. Each of us has a responsibility we must deliver on so that our coffee is successful," said Maria Alexandra when asked which role is most critical in farm operations. Over twenty years ago, Morales and his four brothers took the farm over from their parents, who had inherited the work from Galo's grandparents. In addition to coffee, Galo cultivates sugar cane, guanábana (soursop), corn, beans, and oranges.
Morales is always experimenting with plant care, soil preparation and post-harvest processing techniques in order to show better results each season. In addition to helping other farms in the area by sharing his knowledge, he is able to provide access to global specialty coffee markets through his exporting company, Sensum Coffee, which he and Maria Alexandra founded in 2021.
There’s a lot to love about this coffee - the roasted beans give an effervescent tingle to the nose, like sangria. In the cup, we’re delighted by a candied plum and caramel aroma. Freshly brewed, we taste a deep vanilla, blackberry and apricot body with juicy mouthfeel, which gives way to brighter cranberry, jasmine florals as the coffee cools. The coffee’s natural sweetness presents as honeysuckle, pink candies and balsamic reduction.