Ecuador Coffee: Profiles and Altitudes
Quick answer: Ecuadorian coffee is coffee from a country that straddles the equator, which means altitude, not latitude, shapes the cup. The specialty arabica grows in the Andes, chiefly Loja and Pichincha, with the 2023 Taza Dorada podium sitting between 1,450 and 2,050 m. Beans are the minority story: instant coffee made up 88% of 2022/23 exports (USDA).
- Four growing areas: southern Andes (Loja, Zamora Chinchipe), northern Andes (Pichincha, Imbabura), the Manabí coast and the Galápagos; robusta lives in the Amazon (Orellana, Sucumbíos)
- Altitude: arabica generally 1,000 to 2,000 m, 1,700 to 2,300 m in the south, 600 to 800 m in Manabí, 200 to 300 m on the Galápagos
- Base varieties are Typica, Bourbon and Caturra; Sidra, Geisha and "Typica mejorado" take the competition lots
- Cup of Excellence 2021 to 2023: best score 91.22 (La Noria, Loja, Geisha), top bid $105.10 per pound in 2022
- Harvest data conflict: 7,966 t in 2022 (INEC) against roughly 21,200 t in 2022/23 (USDA)
- Belgium received 5% of Ecuador's coffee exports in 2021, instant coffee included
What "Ecuadorian coffee" really covers
The phrase covers anything grown inside the borders, and the borders contain a lot. Both species are grown, arabica and robusta, in four very different places: the Pacific coast, the Andean Sierra, the Amazon basin and the Galápagos. A washed Geisha from above 2,000 m in Loja and a robusta from lowland Orellana share a flag and little else.
A bag marked just "Ecuador" therefore says almost nothing. What matters is the province, the farm, the variety, the process and the altitude, and a careful roaster prints most of them.
Reading the map, zone by zone
Because the equator crosses the country, temperature follows elevation rather than season, and arabica can be planted at 2,000 m and above. Ecuadorian agronomic work gives arabica a range of 1,000 to 2,000 m, while robusta copes with heat, humidity and low ground, which keeps it in the Amazonian provinces of Orellana and Sucumbíos.
| Zone | Altitude | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Andes (Loja, Zamora Chinchipe, El Oro) | 1,700 to 2,300 m; La Noria at 2,050 m, El Dorado (Olmedo) at 1,720 m | Specialty's centre of gravity: Geisha, Typica, Bourbon, Sidra; mostly washed, more and more naturals and honeys |
| Northern Andes (Pichincha, Imbabura, Carchi) | Cruz Loma (San José de Minas) at 1,450 m | Competition lots, Geisha and Sidra |
| Coast (Manabí) | 600 to 800 m | Arabica that suits natural processing; largest province by tonnage |
| Galápagos (San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz) | 200 to 300 m | Mostly Bourbon, caramel-leaning |
| Amazon (Orellana, Sucumbíos) | Low ground | Robusta, largely for industry |
USDA uses three altitude bands: above 1,200 m, 800 to 1,200 m, and below 800 m. All three Taza Dorada 2023 winners sit in the first.
The map of quality and the map of volume hardly overlap. For 2022, INEC data give Manabí 2,152 t, Orellana 1,683 t, Sucumbíos 1,527 t and Loja 1,245 t. The Amazon supplies 3,468 t of a 7,966 t total, the coast 2,391 t and the Andes 2,107 t. The province that wins the competitions ranks fourth by tonnage.
A cup built on sweetness
If one word sums up the profile, it is sweetness: jam-like sugar, medium acidity, yellow fruit, and in top lots peach, apricot and plum with a floral edge and a creamy body. The traditional Sierra cup resembles the classic Peruvian one next door, while newer specialty lots are growing more distinctive.
Washing remains the default. Naturals and honeys are gaining ground, especially in Loja, bringing more body and bolder fruit. Out on the Galápagos the cup turns toward caramel, medium body and strong aroma.
Two scoreboards: Taza Dorada and Cup of Excellence
Ecuador has two competitions worth knowing. Anecafé runs the national Taza Dorada, whose 17th edition in 2023 put La Noria first with 91.50 points, then Cruz Loma (90.13) and El Dorado (89.75). The Alliance for Coffee Excellence ran three Cup of Excellence editions, from 2021 to 2023. The two use different juries, so the same farm can score differently: La Noria got 91.22 at the Cup of Excellence for its Geisha.
| Cup of Excellence | Best score | Highest price | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90.39 (Arashi, washed Typica mejorado, Loja) | $97.10/lb | 23 lots, $250,068 for 7,453 lb; $33.55/lb average |
| 2022 | 90.28 (Hacienda Lugmapata, washed Sydra, Chimborazo) | $105.10/lb | 18 lots, $264,640 for 6,449 lb; $42.45/lb average |
| 2023 | 91.22 (La Noria, Geisha, Loja) | $102.50/lb | Auction on 14 March 2024; lots from Loja, Pichincha, Chimborazo, Zamora Chinchipe |
Loja supplied 14 of the 23 winners in 2021 (61%), yet the top lot of 2022 came from Chimborazo. The best score rose by almost a point from 2022 to 2023, and average price per pound jumped nearly nine dollars from 2021 to 2022.
Sidra, Geisha and the rest
Southern farms grew up on Typica, Bourbon and Caturra, and rust-resistant Sarchimor joined them. Sidra (Sydra in the Alliance for Coffee Excellence's spelling) is a rare, sweet-cupping variety that has become the country's competition calling card. In 2021 "Typica mejorado" (improved Typica) filled 39% of the 23 winning slots and Sydra 30%, next to three Geisha. By 2023 the list included Geisha, Bourbon, Typica, Sydra and F1 hybrids.
The 2023 Taza Dorada podium was Geisha from top to bottom, and the gap between first and second was 600 m of altitude (2,050 against 1,450 m) for the same variety.
Islands at sea level
Specialty coffee at 200 to 300 m sounds wrong, yet the cold Humboldt Current gives these slopes a climate comparable to 1,200 to 1,300 m. San Cristóbal and Santa Cruz hold 80% of the archipelago's output.
Bourbon arrived about 135 years ago and still dominates. Caturra, Typica, Catuaí and Sarchimor followed with migrants from Loja four or five decades back. Harvest comes twice a year, in February-March and November-December. Washed lots are the majority, and quantities are so small that scarcity needs no marketing.
Why the crop is so hard to count
USDA estimates 354,000 60-kg bags for 2022/23, close to 21,200 t, split into 241,000 robusta and 113,000 arabica, from 60,000 ha and 70,000 growers, 96% of whom farm under 5 ha. INEC records 7,966 t in 2022 over 36,398 ha planted, then 5,584 t in 2023 (Primicias, April 2025). The gap is roughly threefold, so read these as orders of magnitude.
The decline is not in doubt: 347,000 ha in the early 1980s (USDA) against 60,000 ha today. Leaf rust in 2012/13 hurt for years, and production was still rebuilding in 2015/16 at 309,000 bags. Ecuador also buys beans abroad, 330,000 bags in 2022/23.
Instant first, beans second
Soluble coffee accounted for 465,000 of 527,000 exported bags in 2022/23, with 60,000 bags of green beans making up most of the rest. In 2024 exports brought in around $145 million, over 90% of it instant, and about half the soluble contains imported raw material (USDA, 2020).
Destinations in 2021: Germany 32%, Poland 12%, Russia 10%, Colombia 10%, Belgium 5%. These figures include instant, so they reveal nothing about specialty green coffee. Per 60-kg bag in 2021, specialty arabica fetched $220, commercial arabica $126 and robusta $69.
What to look for on a bag
Province first: Loja, Pichincha, Chimborazo and Zamora Chinchipe all had lots in the 2023 Cup of Excellence. Then altitude and variety. A washed Typica from Loja is a gentler entry than a competition Sidra or Geisha. If you want a natural, look to Manabí or Loja's natural lots; for the Galápagos, ask which island.
I would judge Ecuador lot by lot, and start from a plain fact: most of what carries its name is not specialty coffee in bean form.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ecuadorian coffee arabica or robusta?
Both. Arabica grows in the Andes and on the coast, robusta in the Amazon. USDA puts the 2022/23 crop at 113,000 bags of arabica and 241,000 of robusta.
How high is coffee grown in Ecuador?
Arabica generally at 1,000 to 2,000 m, reaching 2,300 m in the southern Andes; 600 to 800 m in Manabí and 200 to 300 m on the Galápagos. The 2023 Taza Dorada podium grew between 1,450 and 2,050 m.
What does Ecuadorian coffee taste like?
Sweet, with medium acidity, yellow or stone fruit, a floral note and a creamy body in the best lots. Galápagos coffee leans to caramel.
Why is most Ecuadorian coffee exported as instant?
The country's instant industry absorbs the local crop and imported beans: 465,000 bags of soluble against 60,000 of green coffee in 2022/23. About half of the soluble contains imported raw material.
Related reading: How to read a coffee label · All buying guides · Specialty coffee FAQ · Coffee glossary
Sources
- USDA FAS, Ecuador: Coffee Annual, GAIN EC2022-0008, marketing year 2022/23: production, area, exports, imports, prices, altitude bands. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/ecuador-coffee-annual-6
- USDA FAS, Ecuador: Coffee Annual (2020): share of soluble, imported raw material. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/ecuador-coffee-annual-4
- USDA FAS, Ecuador: Coffee Annual, marketing year 2015/16: recovery after the 2012/13 rust. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/ecuador-coffee-annual
- Vinocunga-Pillajo D. R. et al., Análisis de la producción y consumo de café en Ecuador, Agroindustrial Science 15(3), 2025 (INEC 2022 data). https://revistas.unitru.edu.pe/index.php/agroindscience/en/article/view/6810
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Cup of Excellence Ecuador 2021: results, varieties, auction. https://allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/ecuador/
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Cup of Excellence Ecuador 2022: results, auction. https://allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/ecuador-2022/
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Cup of Excellence Ecuador 2023: results, varieties, regions. https://allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/ecuador-2023/
- Primicias, Mapa del café (16 April 2025): INEC 2023 production, 2024 exports. https://primicias.ec/economia/mapa-cafe-tazas-ecuatorianos-produccion-exportacion-starbucks-94111
- Primicias, Taza Dorada 2023: podium, altitudes, varieties (organiser Anecafé). https://www.primicias.ec/noticias/economia/taza-dorada-ecuador-mejor-cafe
- Perfect Daily Grind, Origin spotlight: Exploring Ecuador's specialty coffee (2018): regions, altitudes, cup profile. https://perfectdailygrind.com/2018/10/origin-spotlight-exploring-ecuadors-specialty-coffee/
- Perfect Daily Grind, Café de la isla Galápagos: por qué la altitud no lo es todo (2018). https://perfectdailygrind.com/es/2018/01/22/cafe-de-la-isla-galapagos-por-que-la-altitud-no-lo-es-todo/
- Coffee Review, Ecuador: varieties, processing, classic profile. https://www.coffeereview.com/coffee-reference/coffee-categories/geographic-origins/coffees-from-the-americas/ecuador/