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David Torres Bisetti is a philosopher turned coffee professional who has spent the better part of two decades shaping Peru's specialty coffee culture from the ground up. The grandson of a Peruvian of Italian descent who began roasting coffee in Lima in the 1950s, David brought a distinctly humanistic sensibility to his work — one rooted not only in the pleasure of the cup, but in the social and intellectual space the café has historically generated.

A visit to Rome sparked David's passion for espresso. He then opened Arabica in 2008, Lima's first specialty espresso bar, with the conviction that a transformation in public spaces takes place through the concept of the coffeehouse, much as it did in eighteenth-century Europe. 

Three years later he opened Tostaduria Bisetti, a roastery, tasting laboratory, and community hub that became one of the most referenced addresses in the country's emerging specialty scene. From there, a new generation of baristas, roasters, and coffee entrepreneurs were trained — people who went on to shape the specialty coffee landscape across Peru and beyond. But David was equally preoccupied with the other end of the chain: the idea of the specialty consumer began to take real shape in Peru, built on his conviction that without a different kind of drinker, there could be no different kind of coffee.

However his involvement in the industry has never been limited to the café counter. Alongside his career as a university teacher, he worked closely with producers, development agencies, and private partners, focusing on quality development, cooperative organisation, and bringing Peruvian specialty lots to international markets. He also played an active role in Peru's gastronomic revolution, working alongside with chefs, bartenders, and restaurant professionals to make the case that great coffee belonged at the Peruvian table.

The COVID pandemic prompted a deliberate moment to step away from his coffee shops, start a family, and return to the essentials: roasting and consulting for those who take what's in the cup seriously. Today he lives in Belgium, where he trains coffee professionals at SYNTRA, continues to consult, and has launched Bisetti Roast Lab — a space for professional training, coffee experiences, and long-term partnerships with the people he trusts on both ends of the supply chain.  

He is, as ever, easier to find in a café than online.