Scenery - Mario Hervas Washed Mejorado - Pichincha, Ecuador - 100g - 05/13

Our second year purchasing coffee from Mario with Scenery, but our 7th year working together in total - it's safe to say we're fans of the output from El Meridiano. We caught up with Mario prior to the release of this years lot - finding that the weather was a little trickier this year with long periods of continual rain over nearly 6 months, followed by continuous sun for the next 6. While this may have been less than ideal for the plants, Mario has tweaked his processing - holding the coffee in cherry for an additional 20-24 hrs. By keeping the fruit intact, the theory implies a marginal increase in those "in-cherry" fermentation flavours - red fruits and heavier body. But Mario makes sure that the cherry is submerged, in cool water - as opposed to a hot, dry ferment that could rapidly bring in off-character. In all cases with Mario's processing, the goal is to produce something ultra-clean and cultivar lead and this is no exception. We're hearing there's steady progress in the Gesha and Rosado project - selections continue each year; and we're hopeful to secure the first few kilos as soon as they become available.

Tasting Notes: Orange blossom, fuji apple, elegant