Ecuador

Judit Almeida

Washed process Pacamara

Flavour: blood plum, stewed apple, honey

At Finca Campo Alegre, Juan Vergara didn’t just grow coffee beans to prepare the drink he loved so much; he and his family also spent some of the best moments of their lives there. On the farm, Juan and his wife Christine taught their daughters to ride horses, and growing up there, the girls inherited a passion for farming and coffee. For the family, this farm holds all their sentimental history, and this special environment is where the coffee grows.

Juan’s father was born in Loja and used to own a coffee farm there. The farm is no longer in the family, but Juan carried out the passion for coffee on his own farm. Juan lived in Quito and was the General Director of an industrial food company; however, the coffee farm was his private paradise. The almost 4 hectares of coffee were the garden of his dreams. Everything that Juan did in his life was with love and passion; coffee was no exception, and although it wasn’t his main source of income, it had a special place in his life and he couldn’t live without it.

Sadly, Juan passed away due to respiratory illness in 2021, but the farm keeps producing coffee and the deliveries of coffee to Caravela’s mill are overseen by his mother, Judit Almeida.

The farm is a big estate that, besides coffee, has cattle, horses, and herbs such as eucalyptus and lavender to produce essential oils. Regarding coffee, Juan hired Emma Chalan in 2013 to fully dedicate herself to the production of coffee. Since then, Emma has been on top of coffee production, learning and being part of the changes in the process to achieve better quality, such as remembering how at first the fermentation time was 24 hours, but after the advice of technicians, they started doing 72-hour fermentations which helped towards better quality. Emma’s responsibility has always been to make the coffee business profitable at Campo Alegre, which she has achieved. For Emma, coffee is her passion; she loves it. Because of coffee, Emma has been able to provide for her daughters and enable them to become professionals.

Processing

The coffee process at Campo Alegre’s farm starts with good and selective picking of the ripe cherries, which are taken to the wet mill at the farm. There, the cherries are floated to remove the defective ones, which float because of their lower density. Afterwards, the cherries are pulped, and then the beans are floated for a second cleaning. Then, the beans are left to ferment for a period of 72 hours in water and then washed. Subsequently, the coffee is taken to the covered raised beds where it takes up to 30 days to be ready.

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Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

• Dose: 20g ground coffee
• Yield: 60g espresso
• Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

• Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
• Labels: recyclable
• Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
• Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

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Our packaging

Producer

Judit Almeida

Farm/Coop

Campo Alegre

Country

Ecuador

Region

Pichincha

Altitude

2261m above sea level

Variety

Pacamara

Process

washed

Importer

Caravela

Body

Acidity

Tasting notes

Blood plum, stewed apple, honey

Roast style

Omni (filter + espresso)