Boutique Coffee | the course of boutique coffee in Ecuador

Coffee was introduced into Ecuador's Manabi province in the 1860s and became one of Ecuador's main exports in the 1950s and the second most valuable crop in Ecuador in the early 1980s. Ecuador produces Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee; the former is on the west coast and the south, while the latter is mainly in the north. The collapse in global prices in the 1990s and the Ecuadorian economic crisis in the early 2000s, coupled with a sharp decline in arable land and low production, meant a sharp decline in Ecuadorian coffee production.

One of the reasons for the low reputation of coffee quality in Ecuador is that 40% of the total coffee production is Robusta, and the quality of most Ecuadorian exported coffee is relatively low. To keep costs down, many coffees are dried on trees or in the courtyard before they are harvested, which is locally known as cafe en bola. This kind of coffee is usually used to make instant coffee, and 83% of the country's exported coffee is tanned.

Today, Ecuador is one of only 15 countries that produce both Arabica and Robusta coffee. In recent years, the restoration of old plantations and the replacement of old, low-yield trees have begun to restore production in the country. This growth has mainly affected Arabica coffee plantations and boutique coffee farms due to international demand for high-quality coffee. As a low-yield variety, Arabica coffee has a low caffeine content and is used in boutique coffee. By contrast, robusta coffee is high in production, caffeine, and is only used to mix espresso and instant coffee. Although Ecuador's popular Robusta coffee variety still dwarfs Arabica coffee in terms of production, it is actually the first time that the former has begun to decline.

In 2016, Tony Tony Querio of Spyhouse Coffee Company roasted a perfect Ecuadorian classic coffee at the American Baking Competition, which won the first prize. Arabica coffee bought by a South Korean company broke the country's previous price record at the 12th Golden Cup in 2018 in Quito, Ecuador. This is a sign that even though Ecuador's specialty coffee production is still small compared with its neighbors, the recent focus on quality is beginning to bear fruit.