ABOUT EDID MEDINA

We have been drawn to Ecuadorian Mejorado since the beginning of our sourcing journey. This is our first time purchasing a separated lot from Felix Morocho, though our experience with this region and variety goes back many years. Building meaningful volume from this project remains exceptionally challenging, and these lots continue to be extremely small. The quality and profiles produced here make the effort more than worthwhile.

ABOUT SL9

*While this variety’s exact genetic fingerprint is not currently in the global database, its similarity to SL09 supports the use of SL9 as a provisional working name. For now, we refer to it as SL9, as it contains no Gesha in its genetic composition. However, we are continuing conversations with geneticists, as well as with communities in the Inkawasi Valley, about how this variety should be referred to and represented going forward.

Colloquially known as “Gesha Inca,” we had this variety genetically tested last year and found that it closely resembles SL09—a rare cultivar belonging to the Ethiopian Legacy group. “SL” refers to single-tree selections made by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s. While SL28, SL34, and Mibirizi are the most widely grown SL selections, SL09—and by extension SL9—remains uncommon in cultivation today. Local names like “Gesha Inca” often reflect history and terroir as much as genetics—capturing a conversation between lineage, cultivation, and the way producers and communities have always understood their coffees.