We are incredibly pleased to present Pepe Jijon’s Mejorada variety, with Tyoxidator washed processing. Our 2023 favorite coffee of the year. **Our impressions: Meyer lemon, sweet red apple, sweet tea, stone fruits. Pepe is genuinely one of the kindest individuals. His joy & devotion to coffee production overflows at all times. We have desired to work with Pepe since early Spring 2023. The opportunity arose through some direct conversations with Pepe this Summer, and we jumped on the chance to purchase two of his exquisite coffees. Pepe shared with us, "In our processes we try to cause the least amount of stress to the living embryo so that when finally roasted it shines, brings synergy to the cup and happiness to the responsible consumer.” Outside of the “washed” or “natural” processing, Pepe places a huge importance on the drying phase of coffee. He implements only indirect sunlight, as the sun impacts the coffee heavily with UV rays and depletes it of qualities that Pepe desires to present in his coffees. With the Tyoxidator processing, the cherries are left for two days in tanks for a dry, open-air (oxidized) fermentation. The cherries are then pulped and the seeds undergo another two days of fermentation in mucilage. The seeds are then quickly washed and go into an extended drying period, roughly 40 days. The controlled, slow drying yields a resilient coffee seed that remains stable for a long time. Our lot was harvested in December of 2022 and is still bursting with aromatics and flavor.