A valley in the far south of Ecuador.
Banderones is one contiguous title of 2,500 hectares in the province of Loja, above a thousand metres, a short drive from the Peruvian border.
2,500ha
Owned outright, one contiguous title
87pts
SCA score, certified Q graders
800ha
Primary forest, never cut
8
Arabica varieties in selection
The ground
The estate steps up the Andean foothills. The coffee parcels sit around 1,100 metres. Soils are brown tropical with pockets of clay and volcanic material. Fifteen reservoirs fed by natural springs supply the whole property.
The climate is humid tropical with altitude variation: cool nights, a marked rainy season from January to May. Those are the conditions for a dense, complex arabica — the score obtained on the first harvests bears that out.
Three uses, one property
Coffee occupies 25 hectares today and is planted at a deliberate 15 hectares a year. Cattle graze the low ground and the slopes coffee cannot use. Eight hundred hectares of primary forest are conserved and will not be cleared.
The rest is infrastructure, reservoirs, tracks — and land held in reserve. We are not in a hurry to plant it.
Why Loja
Ecuador produces around 355,000 bags of coffee a year. Brazil produces sixty-six million. That smallness, long a handicap, is now the point: a country that cannot make volume is obliged to make quality.
Loja is the province that wins. Coffee has been grown here for two centuries, the region obtained a protected designation of origin in 2019, and lots from these hills have been scored above 91 points at the national competition.
- Coffee
- 25 ha planted, 15 ha added each year
- Cattle
- Extensive pasture, low ground and unplantable slopes
- Primary forest
- 800 ha, conserved
- Infrastructure
- Fifteen spring-fed reservoirs, tracks, buildings
- Reserve
- Held. No planting programme committed
Fifteen reservoirs, fed by springs.
The forest above the parcels regulates the water that reaches them. Fifteen reservoirs fed by natural springs supply the estate, and irrigation is by sprinkler.
Water is used to carry the coffee through the dry months, not to force growth. On shaded ground, under a canopy that holds humidity, the demand is lower to begin with.
Put our coffee on your cupping table.
We work directly with importers, roasting companies and green buyers. Tell us what you are looking for and we will send samples ahead of the release.