Origin guideSouth America
Ecuador Ecuadorian speciality coffee
Ecuador sits on the equator, with coffee grown everywhere from the Pacific coast to Andean farms above 2,000 metres. It’s a small producer with a growing reputation for sweet, floral, fruit-led speciality coffee.
The field notes
Ecuador at a glance
- Harvest
Mainly April to September
- Production
About 350,000 60 kg bags (2025/26)
- Main regions
Loja · Zamora Chinchipe · Pichincha · Carchi · El Oro · Manabí
- Common varietals
Typica · Bourbon · Caturra · Sidra · Typica Mejorado
Production figures: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service estimates for 2025/26, published July 2026.
When is it harvested, and how is it processed? See our guide to coffee harvesting and processing.
Chapter 01The story
History of coffee in Ecuador
Coffee reached Ecuador in the mid-1800s. The first plantings were around Jipijapa in Manabí, a low, warm province near the Pacific coast, rather than the high Andes where the country’s best coffee grows today.
For a long time cacao was the bigger crop. When disease hit cacao in the 1920s and 1930s, farmers and investors turned to coffee, and exports grew steadily through the middle of the 20th century.
By the mid-1980s Ecuador was producing around two million 60 kg bags a year. Then prices fell. Low prices, low yields per hectare and coffee leaf rust pushed many farmers out of coffee, and production today is a fraction of that peak.
Chapter 02Varieties
Sidra, Typica Mejorado and a speciality revival
From the early 2000s, a new generation of producers, inspired by the speciality boom in neighbouring Colombia and northern Peru, started focusing on quality. Selective picking and better processing followed, and the southern highlands around Loja and Zamora Chinchipe became the centre of attention.
Ecuador is now closely linked with two varieties. Sidra is often said to be a Typica and Bourbon cross from a breeding station in Pichincha, but genetic tests have linked plants sold as Sidra to Ethiopian landraces, and its story is still debated. Typica Mejorado, despite its name, appears from DNA testing to be a Bourbon crossed with Ethiopian material rather than a true Typica.
Ecuador held its first Cup of Excellence in 2021. A washed Typica Mejorado from Loja took first place, and Sidra and Typica Mejorado lots made up much of the winning list.
Chapter 03Today
Coffee in Ecuador today
Most Ecuadorian coffee comes from small family farms. An estimated 105,000 families grow coffee, often on less than a hectare, and average yields are low. The country grows both arabica, in the Andes, and robusta, mainly in the Amazon lowlands. Its instant coffee industry also imports robusta, mostly from Vietnam.
Speciality lots come mainly from the southern highlands, where farms can sit above 2,000 metres. Producers use washed, natural and honey processing, along with some experimental methods.
In the cup, good Ecuadorian coffee balances bright acidity with sweetness. Expect floral aromas, juicy fruit such as citrus and red apple, and a chocolatey base. Naturals can lean towards ripe berries, jam and tropical fruit.
Taste the neighbours
Like Ecuadorian coffee? Try its neighbours
If you enjoy Ecuador’s sweet, bright high-altitude arabica, Colombia and Peru are a natural next step. They share the same Andes, many of the same Typica, Bourbon and Caturra plants, and a strong tradition of clean washed coffees.
