In the northern canton of lbarra, in the parroquia of La Carolina, Mario Andrade owns his farm, Habitat Forest. The terrain of the farm was purchased by Mario’s grandfather. Their first endeavor was a marble quarry. Eventually, Mario, who started working with his grandfather, began exploring different alternatives as the marble quarry didn’t seem to have a clear future as a viable business. They decided to plant coffee, which brought about significant change; the farm transformed from a barren space to a habitat with animals and trees, harmonious with the environment. After the third year of planting coffee trees and with their first harvest, they decided to participate in the Golden Cup competition. To their surprise, they placed in the top 30, reaffirming their potential. Mario delved deeper into the specialty coffee world, attending cupping and barista workshops, focusing on maximizing the potential of their coffee. Since 2014, it has been quite a journey of coffee production, always striving for quality. Unfortunately, Mario’s grandfather passed away, but now he works alongside his sister Alondra, whom he calls ‘his right hand.’
For his coffee processing, the cherries are picked at their ideal ripe stage and taken to the wet mill on the farm. There, the cherries are first left in bins for 3 days to ferment, and then they are pulped. Afterwards, the coffee is fermented again in closed bins with some water for a period of 48 hours, and then washed. Following this step, the coffee is placed on the drying area where it will take from 10 to 12 days to be ready, being moved frequently to achieve even drying.