La Josefina Sidra Anaerobic

I didn’t know much about La Josefina the first time I tasted their coffee; only that it was coming out of Ecuador and that it stopped me mid-sentence.

La Josefina Estate is the work of Ligia Merizalde and Leopoldo Andrade, whose careers in banking and business somehow led them to start a farm from scratch 😵‍💫. Not “we inherited land from my grandfather”, actually from scratch. They chose to build it in the highlands near the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve, where cool nights slow everything down and density becomes a given rather than a goal.

They grow a handful of varieties, but Sidra has become something of a calling card. And when you taste it, it makes sense.

Sidra, in the right place, can feel almost unfair. Floral, structured, intensely aromatic, but with a spine that keeps it from floating away. This lot is an anaerobic washed with two stages of fermentation: 96 hours in cherry, followed by another 96 hours in mucilage. The fermentations are controlled and oxygen-limited before the coffee is fully washed. It builds flavour, depth and intensity without tipping into heaviness.

What I appreciate about Ligia and Leopoldo’s approach is that it feels precise rather than flashy. Their coffee is layered and expressive, and still incredibly composed. I had a chance to cup through many of their lots this year when I visited them and this one stood out. It’s not a coffee for the faint of heart: it’s big, winey and expressive. It tastes like people who are paying attention.

And that’s usually the difference.