Competitors in the World Barista Championship have been using rarer and more exclusive types of coffee. We saw this in 2015 when Sasa used Sistic Sudan Rumie in his winning routine, and in 2021 when World Barista Champion Diego Campos Eugenioides used it , and also Australian contestant Anthony Douglas who won using a Sidra type , for example.
At the 2023 World Barista Championship, several of the top six competitors chose to use lesser-known brews — including winner Boram Ohm who used Pink Bourbon , and third-place contestant Jack Simpson who used Umblegon .
Hong Kong was represented by fourth-place finisher Dawn Chan, who 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 Tipica Mejorado, nor its market potential. To learn more about this variety, I spoke with José Pepe Gijón, owner of Finca Soledad . Read on for more of his insights.
Where does Tipica Mejorado come from?
Similar to the Sidra variety, the Tipica Mejorado (also referred to as Tipica Mejorada ) is believed to originate from a Nestlé breeding facility in the Pichincha province of Ecuador.
Pepe Gigon is a first generation coffee farmer. On his farm, Finca Soledad , he grows Sidra and Geisha as well as Tipica Mejorado.
As many coffee professionals believe, Pepe told me, researchers at the coffee breeding laboratory in Pichincha imported different coffee seeds (mostly from Ethiopia) to develop new F1 hybrids with high yields and excellent cup quality.
Then, it is said that Don Olger Rogel , who was working as a field technician in the laboratory at the time, identified two seeds that produced the best organoleptic characteristics. He named them Sidra and Tipica Mejorado and helped distribute the seeds to farms in Ecuador.
“Don Olger gave our agricultural cooperative members the first seeds of Tepica Mejorado in Ecuador,” says Pepe. “I was lucky enough to grow it on my farm in 2010.”
Although it shares a similar name to the type, the type of mejorado is not related to the type. It was probably given this name because its connotations are very similar to the type, but it is often characterized by its more complex and expressive flavors.
Where is Typica Mejorado grown?
While Tipica Mejorado is produced primarily in Ecuador, it is also grown in Costa Rica and Colombia . The plants are usually tall, but produce low yields.
Baby Gigon explains that these plants look a lot like Geisha plants.
“You wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you had a tebeca mejorado plant next to a geisha plant,” he says.
However, the seeds (or pods) of the Typica Mejorado plant are not all the same size. Some tend to be longer (resembling a geisha), while others are much smaller. Pepe explains that this is because altitude and soil have a big impact on how the Typica Mejorado plant grows and develops.
Some of the oldest tepeca mejorado plants are found in Ecuador, including at Finca La Soledad .
“I still have some mother trees that I keep taking seeds from because they have adapted so well to the soil,” says Pepe.
However, like the Geisha and heritage species, the Typica Mejorado is very sensitive to environmental changes such as excessive rainfall and sun exposure.
"The plants have a weak root system, like Geisha again. But after growing Tepica Mejorado for 13 years, the species has evolved to be more resistant to some pests and diseases," he added.
Common suggestions
Overall, Tipica Mejorado has interesting and unique notes. In fact, some coffee professionals say they even prefer it to Geisha .
“This variety has a very clean, acidic flavour and red fruit notes, and is very similar to Geisha in terms of taste,” says Pepe Gigon . “You can experiment with different processing techniques with this coffee and let it shine.”
At the 2023 World Barista Championships, Wanwan Coffee Roasters’ Dawn Chan (who placed 5th) used Finca Soledad ’s Tipica Mejorado coffee. During his routine, Dawn said he chose this variety because it was a new sensory experience for him and allowed him to improve his coffee brewing skills.
The coffee that Dawn used was a special type of Tipica Mejorado called Tipica Mejorado Teoxidator . This type is named after a processing technique used at Finca Soledad that is similar to the washing method.
“This coffee has an amazing sweetness, which is why people love it,” Pepe explains. “We ferment the cherries aerobically in open containers and then remove the pulp. We then ferment the coffee without oxygen in the mucilage layer to make a very sweet coffee.”
Finally, the coffee is washed and then dried.
Baby points out the importance of not submerging the cherries in water at the beginning of the oxidizer treatment.
“We don’t wash the cherries because I think it affects the flavours in the coffee,” he says. “Instead, we want the natural yeasts and bacteria in the fermentation tank to affect the flavours of the coffee.”
When it comes to roasting, Pepe says that Tipica Mejorado doesn’t require a specific roast profile. He suggests adjusting the roast progression according to the different bean sizes and densities.
Is there a wider market for Tipica Mejorado?
There is no doubt about the high quality potential of Tipica Mejorado . But could we see it more widely available in specialty coffee shops?
Because it produces such low yields, it’s unlikely that the Tipica Mejorado will be a big part of coffee shop menus anytime soon. However, in addition to its use in the 2023 World Barista Championship, the variety also took first, third, and fourth place in the 2021 Cup of Excellence competition.
“People around the world are asking for Tipica Mejorado beans,” says Pepe Gigon . “I think it’s because of the beautiful flavour profile of this coffee and the hard work the farmers in Ecuador have put into showcasing its potential.”
Pepe explains that the Down routine at the 2023 World Barista Championship not only highlights Tipica Mejorado, but also the high potential of Ecuadorian coffee quality. This encourages a new generation of young people to work in coffee production.
Similar path to Geisha?
As for future market potential, Pepe believes that Tipica Mejorado could become as popular as Sidra . The variety became popular after Anthony Douglas won the 2022 World Barista Championship using it in his winning routine, and it appears that more specialty coffee shops are offering it.
Furthermore, Pepe believes that Tepica Mejorado may follow a similar path to Geisha .
“Geisha wasn’t very popular when it was grown in Ethiopia or Costa Rica, but it became very popular when it was produced in Panama,” he says. “It took 20 to 25 years for producers to start bringing out its high floral notes.”
“I think Tepica Mejorado and Cedra are on the same path,” he adds. “We haven’t yet discovered the full potential of Tepica Mejorado and Cedra because we’ve only been growing them for ten years, but they’re already showing great promise.”