Farm Lugmapata – Hermanos Merino (Pallatanga, Chimborazo, Ecuador)

Farm: Finca Lugmapata
Producers: Hermanos Merino
Location: Pallatanga, Chimborazo – Ecuador
Altitude: 1,600–2,000 masl
Farm Size: 50 hectares (10 productive hectares)
Varieties: Sidra, Typica Mejorado, Geisha, Typica Ethiope, L1 (unknown)
Processes: Washed coffees (focus on quality post-harvest)
Annual Production: ~150 quintales (green coffee, 2024/2025 harvest)

 

About the Producers

The history of coffee in the Merino family began over 60 years ago, when their father planted the first coffee trees. But due to low market prices, he eventually had to abandon coffee production and dedicate himself to other activities to make a living.

Decades later, a few of those original trees were still producing. Their small harvest was just enough to cover the estate’s taxes each year, keeping coffee alive as a living legacy of his father’s work. Enrique Merino revisited those memories of childhood among the old coffee plants and decided to build on that legacy. He began replanting, replacing the aging trees with new ones, with the goal of restoring coffee production in Pallatanga and positioning it for specialty markets. What began as a family legacy has now grown into a project that produces around 150 quintales of green coffee per year.

 

Varieties & Innovation

From the very beginning, Enrique’s vision was to focus entirely on quality. His plan was to cultivate Geisha, one of the world’s most renowned high-quality varieties, so he invested in Geisha seed to establish his farm. Over time, however, he realized that not all the trees looked the same, and it was unlikely that they were all Geisha. Determined to understand what he had, he sent samples to a laboratory in France for genetic analysis.

The results revealed that Finca Lugmapata held an unexpected treasure: a collection of exceptional varieties, including Sidra and Typica Mejorado (two of Ecuador’s most distinctive contributions to the world of coffee), alongside Geisha and Typica Ethiope. All of these are recognized for their high-quality cup profiles, celebrated for fruity, floral, and complex characteristics that consistently achieve top scores.

Among them, one variety remained unidentified—later baptized as L1. Despite its genetic origin being unknown, L1 has consistently achieved outstanding scores year after year and has become a favorite among coffee lovers for its singular and captivating profile. This diversity of varieties is now one of Lugmapata’s greatest strengths and a cornerstone of its identity in Ecuador’s specialty coffee scene.

 

Challenges & Innovation

The journey was not easy. At the beginning, there was little information available on coffee cultivation in the region. The family sought advice from an agronomist who knew about farming but not post-harvest processes. Through trial and error, they built their own knowledge, experimenting with fermentation and processing techniques. For Enrique, coffee requires patience, constant innovation, and openness to science, especially in the realm of fermentation.

 

Social & Community Impact

Once Lugmapata gained access to international markets and mastered post-harvest processing, the Merino family decided to extend their knowledge to their neighbors. In Pallatanga, most farmers traditionally grew beans, tomatoes, and peppers, crops for the local market with volatile prices and low profitability. By providing coffee plants, technical support, and guidance on processing, the Merinos helped local farmers diversify into coffee. Today, some of these families are already exporting their own coffees, investing in processing equipment, and building a more sustainable future.

 

What Makes Their Coffee Unique

Finca Lugmapata lies at the foothills of the Chimborazo volcano—the highest mountain in the world when measured from the Earth’s core. This unique terroir, combined with washed processes and meticulous post-harvest work, gives their coffees distinctive clarity, brightness, and balance.

 

Vision

For Enrique and his family, Ecuador’s path is not about producing the largest volumes, but about being recognized among the best coffees in the world. Their vision is to keep innovating, improving processes, and helping others in their community to grow with them. As Enrique says: “With God’s guidance, we will continue to innovate until we achieve better and better coffees, so that Ecuador is known as the producer of the world’s best.”