Manhattan – Jose Jijón 125g | Ecuador

Jose Jijón marks a new chapter for a family already well known for Finca Soledad. This lot comes from Fincas del Putushio, a separate high-altitude project built by Jose Jijón and his father Pepe, applying everything they learned developing Soledad to a different part of Ecuador entirely. The result is a coffee with real clarity and poise — clementine, white grapes and rose in the cup, the kind of profile that reads as more floral and citrus-driven than Soledad's own stone-fruit lean.

Putushio sits at 2,222 MASL, in Loja, on ground with a surprisingly deep history — the surrounding area holds artifacts dating back more than 3,000 years, and Pepe has described the terrain's character as "mystical." Whatever the source of that description, the altitude and rugged setting clearly suit coffee: it's exactly the kind of high-elevation environment that tends to slow cherry development and build the acidity and complexity this lot shows.

The variety is Typica Mejorada, one of the varieties Ecuador is best known for internationally. Its exact origin is part legend, part genetics — the story goes that it traces back to Ethiopian landrace material introduced through the Ecuadorian Coffee Research Institute, though how much of that history is documented versus passed down is genuinely unclear even among people who grow it. What's not in question is the character it brings to the cup: Typica Mejorado's familiar structure, layered with a floral, complex edge that points to its Ethiopian ancestry.

Years of experimentation and adaptation went into getting this project to where it is now, and it shows in the final result — a clean, expressive coffee that reflects both the meticulous work of the Jijón family and the specific terroir Putushio offers. It's a strong complement to Finca Soledad rather than a replacement for it: same family, same attention to detail, a genuinely different farm and profile.

Freshly roasted by Manhattan Coffee Roasters in Rotterdam and imported to the UK by ROAST EDIT Co.