What is Typica Mejorado & will it become more popular in coffee shops?

Time after time at the World Barista Championship, competitors have been using more exclusive and rare coffee varieties and species. We’ve seen this in 2015 with Sasa Sestic using Sudan Rume in his winning routine, 2021 World Barista Champion Diego Campos using eugenioides, and Australian competitor Anthony Douglas winning with the Sidra variety, for example.

At the 2023 WBC, meanwhile, several of the top six competitors chose to use lesser-known varieties – including winner Boram Um with Pink Bourbon and second runner-up Jack Simpson with Ombligon.

Representing Hong Kong, fourth runner-up Dawn Chan also used a more exclusive variety called Typica Mejorado. Dawn sourced the coffee from Finca Soledad in Ecuador.

Not much is known about the origins of Typica Mejorado, nor its market potential. To learn more about this variety, I spoke with José Pepe Jijón, the owner of Finca Soledad. Read on for more of his insight.

Where does Typica Mejorado come from?

Similar to the Sidra variety, it’s believed Typica Mejorado (also referred to as Typica Mejorada) originated from a Nestlé breeding facility in the Pichincha province of Ecuador.

Pepe Jijón is a first generation coffee farmer. At Finca Soledad, he grows Sidra and Gesha, as well as Typica Mejorado.

According to what many coffee professionals believe, he tells me researchers at the Pichincha breeding lab imported different coffee seeds (mainly sourced from Ethiopia) to develop new F1 hybrid varieties which produced both high yields and good cup quality.

Following this, it’s said that Don Olger Rogel – who was one of the researchers working at the lab at the time – identified two seeds which resulted in the most desirable sensory profiles. He named them Sidra and Typica Mejorado, and helped to disseminate seeds to farms in Ecuador.

“Don provided our co-op with the first Typica Mejorado seeds in Ecuador,” Pepe says. “I was lucky enough to plant them on my farm in 2010.”

Although it’s certainly similar in name to Típica, Typica Mejorado is not related to this variety. It’s likely to have been given this name as its sensory profile is very similar to Typica, but often with more complex and expressive flavour notes.

Where is Typica Mejorado grown?

While Typica Mejorado is mainly produced in Ecuador, the variety is also grown in Costa Rica and Colombia. The plants are typically tall, but produce low yields.

Pepe explains the plants look very similar to Gesha.

“You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference if you had a Typica Mejorado plant next to a Gesha plant,” he says.

The seeds (or beans) of Typica Mejorado plants, however, are not all the same size. Some tend to be longer (similar to Gesha), while others are much smaller. Pepe explains this is because altitude and terroir have a big impact on how Typica Mejorado plants develop and grow.

Some of the oldest Typica Mejorado plants are found in Ecuador, including at Finca La Soledad.

“I still have some of the mother trees which I continue to take seeds from because they have adapted so well to the terroir,” Pepe says. “However, just like Gesha and heirloom varieties, Typica Mejorado is very susceptible to environmental changes, such as excessive rain and exposure to sunlight.

“The plants tend to also have a poor root system, similar to Gesha again,” he adds. “But after growing Typica Mejorado for 13 years, the variety has evolved to become more resistant to certain pests and diseases.”

Common sensory profiles

Generally speaking, Typica Mejorado has a very interesting and unique flavour profile. In fact, some coffee professionals say they even prefer it to Gesha.

“The variety has very clean citric and red fruit notes, and is very similar to Gesha in terms of flavour,” Pepe says. “You can really play around with this coffee and use different processing techniques, and allow it to really shine.”

At the 2023 WBC, Dawn Chan of Wanwan Coffee Roasters (who placed fifth) used Typica Mejorado from Finca Soledad. During his routine, Dawn said he chose the variety because it was a new sensory experience for him, and also allowed him to improve his brewing skills.

The specific coffee Dawn used was Typica Mejorado tyoxidator. This is named after a processing technique used at Finca Soledad which is similar to the washed method.

“The coffee tastes amazingly sweet, which is why people love it,” Pepe explains. “Essentially, we aerobically ferment the cherries in open containers and then depulp them. Following this, we anaerobically ferment the coffee in the mucilage to create a very sweet coffee.”

Lastly, the coffee is washed and then dried.

Pepe points out it’s important to not submerge the cherries in water at the beginning of the tyoxidator processing method.

“We don’t wash the cherries because I think it’s invasive to the flavours in the coffee,” he tells me. “Instead, we want all the yeasts and natural bacteria in the fermentation tank to influence the flavours in the coffee.”

When it comes to roasting, Pepe says Typica Mejorado doesn’t need a specific roast profile. He suggests tweaking roast development according to the different sizes and densities of the beans.

Is there a wider market for Typica Mejorado?

The quality potential for Typica Mejorado is undeniable. But could we start to see it more often in specialty coffee shops?

Given that it produces such low yields, it’s unlikely that Typica Mejorado will appear on more coffee shops menus in the near future. However, as well as being used at the 2023 WBC, the variety also placed first, third, and fourth at the 2021 Cup of Excellence competition.

“People around the world are asking for Typica Mejorado seeds,” Pepe says. “I think it’s a result of the coffee’s beautiful flavour profile and the hard work of farmers in Ecuador who have been able to showcase what these coffees can do.”

Pepe tells me that Dawn’s routine at the 2023 WBC is not only highlighting Typica Mejorado, but also the quality potential of Ecuadorian coffee. He explains this is encouraging a new generation of young people to work in coffee production.

“My son is 18, and five or six years ago, he didn’t want to work in coffee because he saw how I was struggling,” Pepe says. “But now that I’m receiving support from the international specialty coffee community and improving the marketing of my coffee, my son is helping me on the farm.

“I’m not sure that he will work in the coffee sector in the long term, but he is certainly falling in love with coffee thanks to Typica Mejorado and Sidra,” he adds.

A similar path to Gesha?

As for its market potential in the future, Pepe believes Typica Mejorado could become as popular as Sidra. This variety has become more well known following 2022 World Barista Champion Anthony Douglas using it in his winning routine, with seemingly more and more specialty coffee shops serving it.

Moreover, Pepe thinks Typica Mejorado may follow a similar path to Gesha.

“Gesha wasn’t so popular when it was grown in Ethiopia or Costa Rica, but it became very famous when produced in Panama,” he says. “It took 20 to 25 years for producers to start showcasing more of its highly floral characteristics.

“I think Typica Mejorado and Sidra are on the same path,” he adds. “We haven’t yet discovered the full potential of Typica Mejorada and Sidra because we’ve only been growing them for ten years, but they are already showing great promise.”

Like with many other more exclusive varieties, excitement about Typica Mejorado is growing in specialty coffee. With such high quality cup potential, it’s certainly a coffee we should pay attention to.

However, with smaller yields and plants which grow different-sized beans, it’s unlikely that producers in Ecuador and beyond will be able to sustainably scale production any time soon.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on Sidra coffee.

Photo credits: Jose Pepe Jijon, Specialty Coffee Association

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