Minerva, Ecuador’s coffee since 1963
The essential elements that distinguish us
Making COFFEE is an art that magically encloses the 4 basic elements of life: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, understanding that it is a docile product and that its handling must be highly careful to achieve excellence.
Earth
We produce our coffee from the highlands, 2150 meters above sea level, the higher the altitude the better the organoleptic characteristics. Inclination is an important factor because it plays a role in water retention.
In the lower parts, coffee has a strong flavor and resistance to its treatment under heat, the higher its altitude, the more sensitive it becomes to physical changes perceived by the tongue such as acidity and fruitiness.
Coffee defends itself from the cold by producing sugars and this adds an additional quality that is well recognized by the market.
Water
Water fulfills the mission of allowing the best development of the grain in the most suitable conditions, which is why it is better if it is from a spring, since its purity is greater.
Water moistens the soil, therefore, clouds play an important factor along with the slope of the land, which allow this moisture to flow rather than stagnate.
Water is also used for cleaning coffee via the wet process.
Air
Air quality also depends on altitude. At low altitudes the hot air gives us the robusta bean up to 600 mts, from that altitude the air is cooler and allows the development of the arabica variety with more subtle characteristics such as floral aroma, fruitiness, acidity and sweetness.
Fire
It starts with the sun, which allows for proper ripening, and then on sinew allows for dry milling.
The sun is fundamental in the final drying phase of parchment coffee to give it the touch of the tropics that corresponds to the best coffees in the world.
In the industry, fire allows to enhance the best characteristics of a well-managed bean, both in harvesting and processing, in order to extract its maximum quality in the cup, which will be appreciated by the most sophisticated palates.
Our grains comply with all this process and according to their characteristics, we classify them for the final destination based on the type of grain and origin. We take care of each one of our grains in order to make the most of them and achieve excellence.
We grind the beans according to the final destination and when packaging, we do it with the least possible oxygen and in packaging that prevents its action and also the humidity, thus we take care of the freshness of the coffee that arrives to each home.
