Altos de Marfil comes from 44 small-scale producers growing traditional varieties high on the slopes of the El Limo mountains outside the town of Puyango in Loja province, Ecuador. This coffee is brightened with complex citrus sweetness of grapefruit and dried peach, and balanced with rich notes of hazelnut and cacao. This exceptional coffee came to us by chance as an unsolicited sample from our sourcing partner, Caravela, in order to fill an unexpected gap in our menu. Impressed with the coffee’s performance on the cupping table but relatively unfamiliar with Ecuador as a coffee growing region, we contracted the coffee for our menu and decided to use the opportunity to learn about Ecuador as a nation that has been producing high-quality coffee for nearly 200 years. Knowing the history and context of coffee in Ecuador helps us to realize how phenomenal it is to be able to offer a lot as special as Altos de Marfil.