Fabricio Coronel - Sidra

Fabricio Coronel is 33 years old and a second-generation producer in Sozoranga, Loja. His family has farmed La Florida since 1921; the name came with the land from his grandfather. At between 1,390 and 1,600 masl and 7 hectares fully under coffee, it is one of the larger single-producer operations in this competition.
The climate in Sozoranga is warm and dry — well-suited to natural drying without the humidity that complicates post-harvest at higher altitudes. The main challenges have been access to machinery for road-building and maintenance, and the scarcity of workers in a relatively remote location. Drying infrastructure is sufficient for current volumes, and yields follow a 5-year pruning cycle — peaking and then recovering — but overall productivity is strong.
Varieties in production are Sidra, Typica, and Catucai — the last highly productive despite occupying only one hectare. This Typica Mejorado lot was fermented for four days in stainless steel tanks before drying as a Natural. Fabricio cupped it, found it consistent, and entered it because it had sufficient volume to participate. His advice to new producers: specialty is a long-term project, and the decisions made at the start shape everything that follows. This lot scored 88.46