Soledad - Sidra "WAVE"

World Class lot (89+ points)

Finca Soledad, Imbabura, Ecuador – Natural Sidra “WAVE”

– “The legendary and award winning Pepe Jijon’s Sidra special preparation with added “Mossto” – delivering a truly outstanding cup profile”.

What to expect in the cup

Concord grape, pineapple, lilac. Extraordinary sweet and complex with creamy lactic mouthfeel combined with juicy botanical tannic acidity.

£23.00£96.00

This is our second year working with Pepe and the first time we are brining his legendary Sidra “WAVE” lot. After visiting Finca Soledad in July 2022, we were fascinated by Pepe’s approach to sustainable and super natural approach to growing and processing coffee. His philosophy of little intervention and slow drying is used to preserve the embryo of his coffees alive. This pico-lot of only 30kg was carefully hand picked, composed of only the ripest and best coffee cherries with a Brix level ranging from 18 to 22. To emphasise the terroir of the region, minimal amount of water was used during the intermediate steps of the process. The cherries were fermented in closed tanks for a total of 48 hours with addition of “Mossto”, and then dried in a tightly controlled manner over the course of 4 weeks in a dark room using special air dryers until the desired level of residual moisture was reached. These fermentation protocols along with the strict controlled drying techniques bring the best out of this incredible Sidra. Whilst we were at the farm, we cupped this same lot with and without the addition of “Mossto”, and we decided in the end that we preferred the one with “Mossto” as it scored just a little higher on aroma, acidity and body. We think we have made the right choice and we hope you love it just as much as we do!
Finca Soledad is a stunning farm owned by Jose Ignacio Jijón, also known as Pepe. It is located 50 km north-west of Quito on the Andean slopes that form the Intag Valley and is surrounded by high mountains, dense biodiversity and the strong river Intag. Pepe has been producing coffee here since 2010 and the farm offers varieties like Typica Mejorado, Sidra and Gesha. The climate in the area is warm and humid and has a high rainfall in rainy season. Most of the plantation grows partially shaded by tall trees, these keep the plants cool in the dry season and in the wet season allow plenty of air flow for the humidity not to damage the plants. Before becoming a coffee farmer, Pepe was an experienced mountaineer and was the first Latin American to complete the ‘7 Summits Challenge’, which entails in climbing the highest peak in every continent. He also went on treacherous expeditions to Greenland, the north pole and south pole, and climbed several times the highest peaks in Ecuador as a mountain guide. He then decided to settle in Intag where he was introduced to coffee farming by the local coffee Cooperative. Since then his main focus has been producing high quality coffee. Pepe transmits his adventurous character through coffee, he loves experimenting with different processes and every time he does it, he puts in all his passion.