Bolivia Washed by Carmela, Juana, and Nancy

WHOLE BEAN COFFEE

Tastes Like: Apple pie, almond butter, dried apricot

In Bolivia, the coffee harvest generally takes place between June and October. Due to the high altitudes, steep terrain and variety of coffee plants grown, cherries ripen slowly and unevenly, requiring growers to make several passes throughout the season to ensure that only fully ripe cherries are harvested.

I came across this coffee after speaking to my import partner, Jeff, at Apex. He knew I'd love the story behind this coffee because it's a true testament to teamwork and supporting each other for a common goal: continuing coffee cultivation in a country where it was declining.

This coffee comes from three women: Carmela Aduviri, Juana Gonzales, and Nancy Palli in the Copacabana colony of Caranavi, Bolivia who are part of Agricafe's Sol de la Mañana initiative. Copacabana, one of the colonies in Caranavi, is home to 35 families, with coffee serving as the primary source of income for most of its residents.

The Sol de la Mañana initiative was founded in 2014 by Pedro Rodríguez, his daughter Daniela and his son Pedro Pablo who own Agricafé. It's a family run business that cultivates its own coffee on its farms and sources high-quality micro-lots from small producers in the Los Yungas and Santa Cruz regions.

Pedro and his children realized that their responsibility went beyond managing their own farm and they needed to support the producers who had been supplying them with coffee for years or risk losing Bolivian coffee altogether. This lot from Carmela, Juana, and Nancy is a result of the Sol de la Mañana initiative and the impact of the project is evidenced by the high quality of this cup. So easy drinking with yummy notes of apple pie, almond butter and dried apricot. This cup will be crowd pleaser for its versatile brew methods and how easy it is to brew any way you choose.

Read more about this washed caturra and catuaí below.