Pepe Jijón

Our Story

Finca Soledad is perched on the mountainside overlooking a beautiful valley where the Intag River flows through the land. This land of four hectares was purchased by Pepe in 2010, who was shifting focus from his mountaineering and exploring career to laying low and getting back in touch with the planet. This land seemed perfect for him to do that. Later on, he was introduced to coffee, fell in love with it, and so began his new life as a specialty coffee producer. The area around Pepe, whilst beautiful and lush, was previously victim to deforestation, and so Pepe and his team have been working to replant the land. So far, around 25000 trees have returned to the land, and this place is returning to the flourishing lush serenity that Pepe is looking to enjoy. Finca Soledad mainly produces the varieties typica mejorada and sidra, with little patches of geisha from Ethiopia and Panama alongside caturra and castillo. Some of his processing techniques are the results of some experiments they made, such as his Lot JJ which features a double fermentation stage to enhance the natural flavours of the trees. Producing coffee was not always easy, and it has thrown its challenges at Pepe. But little by little, Finca Soledad has grown to become more sustainable, and a place of peace and comfort to those who work it. Pepe now also roasts his beans during the evenings, completing a nice circle of the full coffee experience from his soils to his cup. When asked what makes his farm so special, Pepe says, “this is my life, this is where I find peace.” In a land that provides inner serenity and in return is being nourished by those who reside there, it is no wonder the flavours that emerge are special too.