Producer: Juan Peña
Farm: Hacienda La Papaya
Region: Loja Province
Altitude: 2,100 masl
Varietal: Typica, Pacas, Caturra, Catuaí, and San Salvador
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Roast: Light-Medium
Notes: Black Cherry, Cocoa Powder, Kumquat

B7 refers to the seventh "bloque" (lot) planted at Hacienda La Papaya. It is located in one of the highest areas of the farm, at 2,100 meters above sea level, and gets sunlight through most of the day. Whereas the rest of the lots are single varietals, B7 is a mix of Typica, Pacas, Caturra, Catuaí, and San Salvador.

Our green coffee buyer visited Hacienda La Papaya in August and had this to say: "The B7 lot is quite a cult fave now. Juan was going to tear it up and replant it with a single variety, like the other 'Bloques' (he's up to 16 now). It's the only Bloque that is a natural 'blend.' Add 120 hours of anaerobic natural processing to it and it becomes really unique. Only a handful of roaster partners worldwide get this coffee."

After being harvested, selected, and cleaned, the cherries go to polyethylene tanks to ferment after oxygen is forced out. The tanks are shaded so that temperatures during fermentation are not allowed to exceed 24° C (75° F). After fermenting, the cherries are transferred to drying rooms for approximately 30 days.

Fifth-generation farmer Juan Peña began planting coffee in 2009 and now has 16 hectares of coffee in production at Hacienda La Papaya in Loja, Ecuador. The coffee is fully irrigated and fertilized according to an ingenious system of Juan's design, with soil sensors that analyze the ideal fertilization mixture at any given time. There is also an extensive nursery on site which serves both to regenerate existing lots and nurture new varietals.

Along with Philip Smith, Juan Peña founded CafExporto in 2019 at first to serve as the exporting arm of La Papaya. It has now expanded to offering technical and educational support, processing expertise, and export services for producer partners in Loja, Zamora, and other regions throughout the country. We visited Hacienda La Papaya and CafExporto most recently in August 2026.