Offshoot Coffee

Santa Gertrudis

Ecuador
Nectarine, Pear, Sherbet
1600-1700masl

Origin Story

Processing Details
o Picking of only red cherries
o Cherries are floated to separate low density cherries
o Cherries are placed in GrainPro bags and zip-tied shut as airtight as possible and left for 10 days to ferment
o Cherries are removed from the GrainPro bags and laid on drying beds in the drying room until moisture reaches 10-12%
o Drying typically takes 20-30 days
o Beans are stored in dried cherry pods until milling for export
The picturesque hacienda Santa Gertrudis has belonged to the Eguiguren family for over a hundred years, but it did not always grow coffee trees.
Luis Emilio Eguiguren first planted a coffee tree in 1954, and his son Hernan Eguiguren assumed the challenge after growing up watching his father sow.
Hernan continued to plant commercial coffee as a means to keep the farm going, but it was Luis Emilio’s grandson, José, who really specialised in coffee.

The terrain and climate mean that Santa Gertrudis, as crazy as it sounds, can actually harvest all year round,
as the location in the Podocarpus Park causes rain on any day of the year, resulting in blossoming trees throughout the seasons.

When José took over the production and maintenance of Santa Gertrudis in 2017, he decided to focus on producing specialty coffee.
This decision has led to him reaching some of the most demanding coffee markets across the world.

Hacienda Santa Gertrudis has its own fully equipped wet and dry mill to process the beans, but it is not only used for this farm’s harvest alone.
José provides support to other local coffee farmers through warehousing, milling, exporting and technical support,
enabling those around him to meet the specialty coffee standards, which in turn results in increased incomes for the local families.
The increased income then means they can invest back into their farms for a better harvest in the future as well as invest towards their livelihoods.
The community around and within Santa Gertrudis is worth celebrating, and the coffees coming from Malacatos, Loja are ones to be watched.
Jose describes his farm as a “project under construction”, and looks forward to offering larger volumes of his coffee and greater stability in the harvests.