30Ecuador
813,000 bags (ICO 2009)In-depth country profile: production, varieties, classification, history, current situation and points still uncertain. Region: South America.
In Ecuador, coffee growing only really developed from the 1920s, replacing diseased banana and cacao trees. Crossed by the Andes and covered in the East by the Amazon, the country allows both highland arabica and lowland canephora.
The sector remains traditional, from cultivation to processing, with nearly half smallholders. Ecuador's real asset is its unique ecosystem and its agro-climatic potential, the Galápagos Islands being the most striking example. Two regions, Pichincha and Loja, now forge its reputation in demanding markets.
- Botanical species
- Arabica, Canephora
- Altitude
- 1,500 to 2,000 m
- Shade
- Fruit trees (banana, cacao)
- Harvest
- Manual and selective (picking)
- Processing
- Wet process and dry process; fermentation 12-36 h for washed coffees
- Sorting
- Gravity, mechanical and electronic sorting, supplemented by hand
- Harvest period
- June to October
- Packaging
- 69 kg bag
There is no established official procedure; some criteria nonetheless come up frequently.
Altitude
The main determinant of quality: it conditions ripening and the aroma precursors. Acidity and fruitiness are directly linked to it.
Quality
| Preparation | Criteria |
| European | Hand-picked and hand-sorted, screen 18/19, mild and fruity cup |
| US | Standard, machine-sorted, screen 17/18 |
Bean size: the Colombian model (“Excelso,” “Supremo”) is often borrowed to describe the homogeneity and size of the beans.
History
In 1919, Ecuador exported 3,729,413 pounds of coffee. Its five-year average, that is, the average calculated over five years, reaches 5,843,033 pounds: 1919 is therefore a low year.
These figures mainly serve to place the country among its neighbors. Ecuador exports ten times more than Peru at the same date, and far less than Colombia.
Ecuadorian coffee growing is therefore young. The profile places its real development in the 1920s, and gives it a precise cause: banana and cacao trees fall sick, and the coffee plant takes their place.
Ukers 1922, ch. XXII, p. 289-291 (exports of the producing countries), p. 290; Country Profiles, Marco De Sousa Rosa, 2026The country gave two varieties whose genotyping overturned their identity. Sidra, originally presented as a Typica by Bourbon cross from a Nestlé station, is placed by genetic analysis in the Ethiopian group. Typica Mejorado is not a Typica: genotyping indicates a spontaneous cross between Bourbon and an Ethiopian landrace. Two commercial names, two false identities.
World Coffee Research, Coffee Varieties Catalog 2025, Sidra and Typica Mejorado profilesToday
The volume at the head of the profile, 813,000 bags, is that of the profile (ICO 2009).
Here, relief rules. The Andes give altitude, the Amazon gives the lowlands, so that the same country carries both highland arabica and lowland canephora.
The varieties declared are Typica, Caturra, Bourbon, Pacas, Catuai, Catimor and Sarchimor. They grow between 1,500 and 2,000 meters.
Harvesting is by picking, that is, cherry by cherry and taking only the ripe ones. The country works both processes, wet and dry, with a fermentation of 12 to 36 hours for washed lots.
Country Profiles, Marco De Sousa Rosa, 2026; World Coffee Research, Coffee Varieties Catalog 2025The sector remains traditional, from cultivation to processing, with nearly half smallholders. Two regions, Pichincha and Loja, forge the country's reputation in demanding markets; the Galápagos serve as an extreme example of the Ecuadorian ecosystem.
Country Profiles, Marco De Sousa Rosa, 2026Gray areas
- The date of introduction of coffee to Ecuador is not given by the sources consulted.
- No Ecuadorian production volume after 2009 could be sourced.
- The history of the Nestlé station at the supposed origin of Sidra is not documented by a primary source.
- Coffee production in the Galápagos is not quantified by any source in the corpus.