Loja

Loja is the name to know in Ecuadorian coffee. In the far south of the Andes, near the border with Peru, about 8,000 smallholders grow arabica from 600 to 2,200 metres. Its farms win most of the country’s quality competitions, its name has been a protected denomination of origin since 2019, and in October 2026 the National Assembly declared Loja Ecuador’s coffee capital.

The short version

• Arabica at 600–2,200 metres, in almost every canton of the province.
• Juicy and citrusy, with fruit, panela and chocolate notes.
• Lojano Café de Origen, a denomination of origin since 2019.
• 71% of Taza Dorada contests won by Loja growers.
• Harvest from about May to September.
• 507 tonnes in 2024, about 9% of Ecuador’s coffee.

What does Loja coffee taste like?

Juicy and bright. Perfect Daily Grind Español describes Loja coffee as juicy, with citrus acidity and notes of yellow and red fruit, brown sugar, panela, berries, tea, cacao and dark chocolate, much of it brought out by experimental processing. One Chaguarpamba producer told Expreso that buyers in Uruguay were struck by how sweet her coffee was. Competition results bear out the reputation:

Year	Winner	Farm and canton	Score
2023	María del Pilar Burneo	La Noria, Loja; Geisha at 2,050 m	91.50
2023 (3rd)	Edilberto Guevara	El Dorado, Olmedo; at 1,720 m	89.75
2025	Angelino Abad	Olmedo	91
2025 (2nd)	Luis Carpio and Karina Iñiguez	Loja	89.42
2025 (3rd)	Carlos Jaramillo	Saraguro	89.25

Source: Taza Dorada results, via Primicias (2023) and Expreso (2025).

La Noria’s 2023 lot sold for US$45 a pound at auction. Loja lots have fetched up to US$103.20 a pound, the National Assembly noted in 2026.

Where and how it grows

The province’s coffee grows at 600 to 2,200 metres, the National Assembly’s 2026 resolution says. Accounts differ on how widespread it is: the Assembly says coffee now reaches all 16 cantons, while Perfect Daily Grind counts 15 of the 16. Around 8,000 growers are active, and 61% work family farms of less than 5 hectares. Varieties include Sidra, Typica Mejorado, Geisha, Caturra, San Salvador and Pacamara. One Puyango grower described his method to Hora32: selective picking, then floating, pulping, fermenting, washing and drying under a covered dryer. In 2024 growers in Sozoranga received Bourbon Sidra seed for a plan to plant a million coffee plants, Expreso reported. Unusually for a speciality origin, about 80% of Loja’s coffee is drunk in Ecuador and only 20% exported, Perfect Daily Grind says.

How much coffee does Loja grow?

Measure	Figure	Source
Area planted, 2024	2,225 ha	INEC
Area harvested, 2024	1,464 ha	INEC
Production, 2024	507 t	INEC
Share of national production, 2024	About 9% (by our calculation)	INEC
Area	More than 3,000 ha	INEC, via Expreso, 2025
Area	7,490 ha	Ministry of Agriculture, via Hora32 (undated)

INEC’s survey and the agriculture ministry’s figure, which is undated, differ by a factor of three. By INEC’s 2024 figures, Loja is Ecuador’s fourth-largest coffee province, after Manabí, Sucumbíos and Orellana.

Harvest and threats

Loja’s arabica is picked from about May to September. In 2026 the harvest began in the last week of May, three weeks late, and growers expected up to 40% less coffee after heavy rain, Expreso reported. Growers were also worried about the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, detected in Loja, Zamora Chinchipe and El Oro, on which they said they had little official information.

A short history

• 1826: coffee planting begins in the canton of Calvas, according to the National Assembly.
• 2019: Lojano Café de Origen is recognised as a denomination of origin.
• 2023: La Noria’s Geisha wins the Taza Dorada with 91.50.
• 2025: Loja growers take the top three places in the Taza Dorada, among 72 producers from 10 provinces.
• 2026: the National Assembly declares Loja Ecuador’s coffee capital.

Loja and other Ecuadorian origins

• Coffee in Ecuador: the whole country, its arabica, robusta and soluble industry.
• Zamora Chinchipe: Loja’s Amazonian neighbour, also high-grown arabica.
• Coffee in Peru: across the border to the south.