Farmer Chris McCausland is traditionally a rancher whose family operates the 500 acre Erdenheim Farm, a pastoral sanctuary in the greater Philadelphia area. There they raise cattle, sheep, chickens, and keep Maremmas livestock guardian dogs. A rancher by trade, but a horticulturist at heart, Chris and his wife Kristina cultivated lavender and calendula, and maintained an orchard with over 1000 trees on the property.

In part due to the unique climate of coastal Santa Barbara which allows for the cultivation of a huge variety of plants. The McCausland’s moved to California and purchased the ten acre Sundays on Toro Ranch in 2021, allowing Chris to delve into his horticultural interests.

Agriculture operations on the property began in the 1920’s with citrus groves and later evolved into a commercial floriculture nursery. In 2016 the previous owners recognized the potential to produce organic coffee due to the farm’s unique terroir. Arabica coffee is a fickle plant, that’s difficult to grow without fairly exacting conditions. Too hot or too cold and the plant is damaged, often dying without ever producing coffee. The unique microclimate of coastal California from Goleta to Ventura, and again near San Diego, allows for the slow maturation of coffee cherries needed for complex and dynamic coffees.

The only coffee grower in Montecito, Sundays on Toro Ranch produces pacas, gesha, caturra (which we featured as our July 2023 rare offering), and catuai coffee varieties on five acres of loam soil terraces. In addition to over 3,000 coffee plants, Sundays on Toro Ranch produces a variety of different fruits, including blackberries, peaches, apples, mariposa plum, lemons, limes, oranges, kumquats, passion fruit, and bananas.

• Producer: Chris McCausland
• Region: Montecito, California, USA
• Variety: Gesha
• Processing: fruit dried natural
• Altitude: 90 meters