Finca Nueva Esperanza is a small, 2 hectare farm, managed by Juan Pablo Malactos in Palanda, Ecuador. Juan Pablo is a 24 year old, second-generation producer and this lot is only his third harvest from the trees he planted 5-6 years ago. We purchased his coffee for the first time last year, and we're excited to see a remarkable increase in the quality this year. Because of the quality increase, Rowan, Subtext, and Sey all paid an additional bonus of 50 cents per pound through importer, Coffee Quest, which went directly back to Juan Pablo. While he grows other fruit on his farm, Juan Pablo is growing solely the Mejorado variety with his coffee. Mejorado has close genetic ties to Ethiopian landrace varieties, and is almost exclusively grown in Ecuador. Mejorado's flavor profile comes as no surprise, with a range of floral and citrus flavors similar to that of Ethiopian coffees. This year's harvest is zippy and electric. In the cup we're finding flavors of mango and meyer lemon, soft florals, and an underlying honey-like sweetness. It's always exciting to be able to support young generations of producers, and we're so lucky to have the opportunity to be able to roast Juan Pablo's coffee so early in his own journey as a producer. We hope to buy his coffee for years to come! If you're interested, you can also try his coffee roasted by our friends at Subtext in Toronto.