Richard was introduced to me by our common friend, and Colombian coffee producing legend Mauricio Shattah. I met Richard and his son, Richard Jr. back in Ecuador in 2022 and I was impressed by their humble demeanor. They, like many avantgarde Ecuador producers, are taking great care of their processing and using science and targeted cupping to hone in on the right processes for each variety they grow. I have since discovered that behind the humble demeanor of Richard Sr. is a coffee producing legend that is intent on changing the coffee communities in the impoverished region of Zamora.

This lot is 100% Wush Wush, processed with a 36 hour anaerobic fermentation, followed by 25 days of drying on raised beds.

Although Richard has been a coffee producer for decades, his farm in Zamora is pretty new. In 2018, Richard began planting coffee on this farm, called La Reserva. The farm sits around 1500m of elevation, a perfect altitude for coffee at this latitude. I respect both Richards (son and father) for their desire to make a social impact. In the surrounding areas in Zamora, hundreds of small producers sell their coffee to intermediaries who pay them pennies on the dollar and resell for a big profit. The Richards have been helping these producers by connecting them directly with buyers such as myself who will pay them what their coffee is worth and will allow them to begin thriving from the sale of their coffee. Although this year, this pilot program wasn’t ready for me to buy, I look forward to buying some of these coffees next year.

I loved this coffee right away when I tasted it on the cupping table – immediately winey, with lots of grape notes, tangerine, cacao, and cherry and panela.

We flew this coffee from Ecuador to get it here quickly and share it with you all!

- Sebastian