It began as a maize field.
Jean Merino bought the land in 2019. It was growing maize, one crop, on ground that could clearly do better.
The conversion
The first decision was to stop farming it as one thing. Pasture went in on the low ground, the primary forest was surveyed and left alone, and the first coffee went into the hillsides under the existing canopy rather than in cleared rows.
That last choice was the slow one. Planting into standing shade costs yield and complicates every operation that follows. It is also the reason the estate can talk today about agroforestry, biodiversity and European compliance without having to change anything.
The first score
Coffee takes three to four years to produce and five to reach full yield. The first harvests were cupped at 87 points by certified Q graders, with 87.5 on the Castilla. That number decided the shape of everything since: the estate is not chasing volume, it is defending a score while it grows.
The second harvest is in. It is the first that will be picked, processed and sold hill by hill.
Against the grain
Ecuador made its name with Sidra, and the country is now planting it everywhere. We grow it, and we have chosen not to build on it. A saturated variety is a falling price.
Banderones is built on a different base — Castilla first, with a spread of varieties selected for what they do in this particular ground — so that what arrives on the market is a profile nobody else is offering.
Fifteen hectares a year. Planting faster means losing control of quality at the exact moment quality is what sets the price.
The estate's working rule
Ownership & direction
Jean Merino
Founder of the estate. Bought the land in 2019 and converted it from maize monoculture to a diversified operation. Directs the estate from France and on the ground in Loja.
Product & agronomy
Elias Merino
Runs varietal selection, the planting programme and the quality trajectory. Trained in coffee and works inside the industry. Decides what goes in the ground and how it is processed.
Market & brand
Hermès Coutureau
Runs the commercial side: relationships with importers and roasters, the estate brand, and the route to European and North American buyers.
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.