One thousand kilometers west of mainland Ecuador, and straddling the equator, the Galápagos Islands are ostensibly the least likely place to produce specialty coffee. Made famous by Charles Darwin, who, thanks to the notable biodiversity fostered by the islands’ isolation, developed his Theory of Evolution there, the Galápagos are home to diverse populations of birds, sea lions, ancient tortoises, and iguanas. Somewhat surprisingly, the islands are also home to hundreds of small coffee farms.
Even though there is a volcanic peak on the islands that reaches 1,700 meters above sea level, the vast majority of the coffee farms of the Galápagos are located at elevations between 130 and 550 meters above sea level. These are elevations far below what is typically considered appropriate for specialty coffee production. Coffees grown at elevations below 1,000 meters above sea level are typically characterized by a complete lack of sweetness, little to no acidity, and overall flat and uninteresting profiles. La Tortuga is anything but.
Specialty coffee needs to be produced in regions with large diurnal temperature variations. A diurnal swing is the difference in temperature between the warmest part of the day and the coolest part of the day. The larger this swing in temperature, the slower the maturation of the cherries, which contain the seeds we roast and present as coffee. The more slowly this maturation occurs, the more concentrated sweetness and heightened acidity can be found in the cup of the finished product. Generally speaking, the higher the elevation, the greater this diurnal swing. There are relatively few known factors that influence quality as directly as elevation.
So how is it that this coffee, which was grown at a mere 250 meters above sea level, is so enjoyable in the cup? The answer to that question lies with the Humboldt Current, a low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America. Despite the low elevations and proximity to the equator, daytime temperatures rarely exceed 82°F, while evening temperatures routinely hit 53°F. This diurnal swing correlates to elevations from 1,400 to 1,800 masl in a country such as Colombia - ideal elevations for producing top quality specialty coffee.
