Terrazas del Pisque - Ecuador - Anaerobic Natural Mixed Varietals - Espresso

Sweet, jammy with orange acidity, amazingly creamy and caramelly when combined with milk

Flavor: Goji berry, jammy & sweet granadilla

Cupping score: 88.5

Origin: Ecuador

Region: Quito - Pichincha

Producer: Arnaud Causse - Micro lot

Varietal: Typica, Bourbon, Java, Yellow Caturra, Pacamara & Maragogype

Process: Anaerobic Natural

Altitude: 2000 MASL

Roasted for: Espresso - Medium roast

Arnaud and his farm

In this incredible farm that is Las Terrazas del Pisque, Arnaud has created an ecosystem from A to Z: By planting a forest in the middle of this arid and desert area to shelter his coffee trees with more than 25 different tree species, some of which are endemic, beehives for the production of honey, many honey plants that are used for produce essential oils to treat coffee trees naturally but also so that bees can take up residence there, fruit trees which have become a refuge for birds, leguminous plants which enrich the soil with nitrogen. These solutions for crop diversification, shade, natural treatment and soil enrichment allow him to grow his coffee with 0 pesticides. Arnaud juggles preparation processes and various experiments. His background as an agricultural engineer and his international experiences in coffee-growing make him a unique producer

“At my farm in Las Tolas, I have tried to establish coffee production right in the middle of a natural forest. And every day the forest tries to kill my coffee one way or another. With Las Terrazas del Pisque, I decided to try something different, I chose to grow a forest in the middle of the desert and then plant my coffee,” Arnaud Causse

Las Terrazas del Pisque is Arnaud’s second farm. Historically dedicated to cow breeding, he took the farm over in 2012. It is a more experimental farm than his first, Las Tolas, and is located on the peaceful slopes of the Andes mountain range at an altitude of between 1,700 and 2,100 metres in an arid, desert microclimate. He began by planting a forest to create a microclimate that could accommodate his coffee trees, which include more than 25 species, some of which are endemic. As a result, his plantation grows entirely under the shade of castor-oil plants and Inga, acacia, papaya, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, avocado, tea, fig, cypress, ash, pomegranate, eucalyptus, broom and medlar trees, to name just a few!
As Arnaud so aptly puts it: “The trees at Las Tolas all know each other well, coffee is the only intruder, whereas at Las Terrazas all the trees are strangers to each other so they don’t reject the coffee, which is no more of an intruder in the ecosystem than they are.”
The farm is named after the El Pisque river which flows below, fed by the melting snow falling from the Cayambe volcano. For the moment, Arnaud cultivates just 15 of a total of 40 hectares, because he has to draw water more than 8 km away. Ultimately, he would like to farm 25 hectares. He has chosen the same varieties for this farm as those found at Las Tolas, which he loves and knows so well: Caturra, Yellow Caturra, Tekisik Bourbon, Pacamara, Pacas, Java and a brand-new Las Tolas hybrid, which is an Ecuadorian mutation of his Bourbon and some new Ethiopian plants.
Arnaud also has hives, and when the trees are in full bloom bees invade the plantation gathering nectar from flower to flower among coffee, lavender and raspberry plants. In order to protect his bees, Arnaud does not use any pesticides on his farms and treats his coffee trees using tagetes, lavender and rosemary essential oils, which he produces himself

We roast our coffee Mondays and Wednesdays! All weekly orders are dispatched twice a week Tuesdays & Thursdays. On all of our coffee bags, we provide you with a roast date. To get the best out of our coffee, we aim to rest it for 7-14 days after roasting (depending on the type of coffee); this allows for the flavors to open up, offering much more clarity to your cup.