Coffee Production in Ecuador

Next, we traveled to a coffee plantation north of Quito, Ecuador. They raise specialty coffee due to the climatic conditions. In this case, it was in the cloud forest. In the silver bowl are examples of several different stages of the coffee, starting with the red coffee cherry. Some are cherries that are fermented and dried. Some are beans are removed, dried, and roasted. Coffee beans aren't actually beans; instead they're seeds from the coffee cherry. The farm owner had us see, feel, smell, and taste all of these different stages and components of coffee. Also, he had us eat a piece of dark chocolate before we had coffee brewed several different ways. The dark chocolate tasted fruity when you had the coffee brewed one way. The same piece of dark chocolate tasted totally different when you had the same coffee brewed a different way showing how brewing affects flavors.