Origin: Finca La Comarca
Producers: Johany & Daniel
Region: Malacatos Parish, Vilcabamba Area, Loja Province, Ecuador
Altitude: 1,700 – 1,800 MASL
Density: >710
Moisture Content: 11.5%
Cupping Score: 85.5
Process: Natural T., Dried by the sun
Price: $13.13/lb | 22lb Box: $288.80
Vilcabamba, Loja – home to Finca La Comarca, a nearly century-old family farm reborn as a source of world-class coffee. This idyllic valley in southern Ecuador sees both heavy rains and intense sun, a challenging climate that the farmers have learned to harness in growing exceptional Sidra coffee. La Comarca was originally established almost 100 years ago as a cattle ranch known as Hacienda “Panamá,” and even stood out as the first farm in Loja to have electricity via a water-driven Pelton wheel. Over time, the farm went quiet as people left for the city, but now the fourth generation of the family has revived it with new energy and purpose.
At La Comarca, a dedicated team of mostly local women handles every step from seed to cup with passion and care. For Isadora Maldonado and her family, coffee is truly a labor of love and a vehicle for community revival. They carefully cultivate Sidra seedlings in their on-site nursery, believing that nurturing healthy plants from the very beginning is essential to a resilient crop. Only the fully ripe cherries are handpicked during harvest, and post-harvest processing is done with meticulous attention. United by the goal of sharing one of Ecuador’s best coffees, the family infuses dedication into every project on the farm. This inclusive, sustainable approach is creating a thriving community around coffee and yielding beans that awaken and inspire everyone who tastes them.
La Comarca currently grows only one coffee variety: Sidra. This choice reflects their focus on quality, as Sidra is a rare hybrid born from Bourbon and Typica lineages originally developed in Ecuador’s coffee research efforts. The variety inherits Bourbon’s dense sugars and full body along with Typica’s bright acidity and delicate floral notes. The farm’s first Sidra crop was harvested in 2021, marking the family’s entry into the specialty coffee world. In fact, Sidra remains the only coffee grown on the farm for now (with a newly planted patch of Geisha promising a next chapter), making this lot a pure expression of that single variety.
This particular lot is a Sidra Tradicional Natural, processed in the most time-honored way. After harvest, instead of removing the fruit, the whole ripe coffee cherries were laid out to dry slowly under the sun on the farm’s raised drying beds. Over the course of several weeks, the cherries were carefully turned and monitored as they dehydrated in the warm sunshine, allowing the beans inside to absorb the rich sugars and flavors of the fruit. By sun-drying the coffee entirely on-site, La Comarca ensures that the beans imbibe the sweet, fruity character of the Sidra cherries while avoiding defects. The dry mountain air of the Malacatos Valley helps the cherries dry evenly, locking in vibrant taste compounds. The result is a beautifully handled natural-process coffee – one that bursts with fruit-forward complexity yet remains clean and refined in the cup.
In the cup, La Comarca’s Sidra Natural delivers a tasting experience as compelling as its story. Drinkers have noted vivid notes of tropical fruit (mango, guava), berry sweetness, and even a creamy, yogurt-like undertone, all wrapped in delicate floral aromas. It’s an elegant complexity seldom found in naturally processed coffees – a testament to the farm’s meticulous methods and the favorable terroir. But what truly makes this coffee special is the passion behind it: the heritage of a 100-year-old farm, the rebirth led by a new generation, and the devotion of a team of women pouring their hearts into every bean. This rare micro-lot from Ecuador embodies a dedication to excellence and a love of community. By bringing Finca La Comarca’s Sidra to your cup, we help shine a spotlight on Ecuador’s emerging specialty coffee scene, making its finest treasures more accessible to coffee lovers in the U.S. and beyond.
