El Batan

El Batan is a small coffee-farming community nestled in the highlands of Loja, Ecuador. This year, four farms from the area approached Roberto Jiménez, our export partner in Ecuador, seeking his help to connect with a buyer for their coffee. When Roberto shared a sample with us, we were immediately impressed by the quality and knew it would be a perfect fit for our Single Origin Subscription program. Each grower carefully harvested and pulped uniformly ripe red coffee cherries, then fermented the coffee for 48 hours––about a day longer than is typical––to enhance fruit flavors in the cup. Look for jammy plum and blackberry flavors rooted in a deep chocolatey sweetness.

Pronunciation: El ba-TAHN

Sourced from the Loja region of Ecuador, El Batan represents a distinct offering from Counter Culture Coffee. This lot is prepared using the washed process, a technique that typically emphasizes the inherent clarity and acidity of the bean by removing the fruit flesh before drying. You can learn more about how these processing methods influence the final cup profile in our technical guide.

In the cup, El Batan presents a profile characterized by jammy plum, blackberry, and a distinct chocolatey sweetness. When evaluating these specific attributes, it can be helpful to reference our flavor wheel to better identify the nuances of these fruit and confectionary notes. While washed coffees are often celebrated for their clean, bright profiles, the specific terroir of Loja contributes to the unique depth found in this particular selection. It serves as a compelling example of the high-quality output currently emerging from Ecuador’s diverse coffee-growing landscape.