Bolivia Coop San Juan
This is a showstopper of a coffee from Bolivia's Cooperativa San Juan. Let's talk about how special it is.
First of all, is the sweet, creamy mango and green apple aromas. The cup is smooth and velvety, with the sweet taste of cordial cherry. The finish is clean, with lingering sweetness and crème brûlée flavors. I'm so pleased to be able to bring this coffee to you.
Bolivia Cooperativa San Juan is grown by 40 farmer members across Caranaví, united to support small family farms and organic, chemical-free methods.
Bolivian coffee faces one of the most arduous overland journeys in the coffee world, passing elevations of 4,000 meters over the top of the Andes before traveling west to the port of Arica on Chile's coast. These formidable logistical challenges mean each triumphant arrival of specialty coffee from Bolivia is something to be cherished!
Aroma: Sweet, with creamy mango and green apple aromas
Cup: Medium body with honey and floral highlights and a very smooth mouth feel
Finish: Clean finish with lingering sweetness and crème brûlée flavors
One Pound
About this Coffee
GROWER: 33 farms organized around Cooperativa Agrícola Cafetalera San Juan
REGION: Caranavi, La Paz, Bolivia
ALTITUDE: 1500 meters
PROCESS: Fully washed and sun-dried
VARIETY: Typica, Caturra, and Catuai
HARVEST: May-December
SOIL: Clay
CERTIFICATIONS: Certified Grown Organic
Cooperativa Agrícola Cafetalera San Juan was formed in 1974 with 40 farmer members from Caranaví, united to support small family farms and promote organic, chemical-free methods. The cooperative got off to a strong start; by the mid-2000s, Bolivia was hosting annual Cup of Excellence competitions.
There was a high level of international development interest in the Yungas coffee sector, of which Caranaví is the center. However, the productivity of cooperative members declined tremendously from 2006 to 2017 due to aging trees and declining investments.
That year, Felix Chambi Garcia joined the organization, bringing with him over 16 years of specialty experience as a cupper and member of various other Bolivian cooperatives.
Since then, the coop's total production, quality, and diversity of coffees have increased significantly. Felix sees himself as part of Bolivia's younger, renewed generation of coffee lovers—including baristas and roasters—who are fortunate to be in a producing country with such high potential.
Cooperativa San Juan relies on individual farmers to process their own coffee. Felix has made quality control central to the coop's operations, and his lab in Alto Cochabamba serves as the central control point for all exportation. Parchment lots that don't meet quality requirements are sold domestically rather than abroad.
Harvesting follows a standard protocol: coffee cherry is picked exclusively ripe, floated to sort by density, depulped on small mechanical depulpers, and fermented for 18-24 hours. Once fermentation is complete, the parchment is washed clean in narrow basins and sundried on raised screen beds.
Bolivia is South America's only landlocked coffee-producing country and the continent's smallest exporter of coffee. Nevertheless, Biodiversity, soil health, elevation, and progressive leadership in San Juan all work in favor of small farmers seeking sustainable livelihoods through coffee production.
Bolivia's terrain and geography are gifted for arabica production, particularly throughout the greater Yungas region, whose mountain ranges connect the low and humid Amazonian basin to the dry Andean altiplano above.
The most productive municipality in the Yungas is Caranaví, where 85-90% of Bolivia's specialty coffee has continued to thrive over the decades. Caranaví's landscape is steep, cloudy, rugged, and remote, with natural forest making up more than 90% of the territory.
Coffee farms in this high and tropical climate tend to be well-managed but small, and challenged by isolation. In addition, Bolivian growers often still lack their own processing equipment and transportation, a significant hurdle in such a territory.
In addition, every Bolivian coffee faces one of the most strenuous overland journeys in the coffee world, passing elevations of 4,000 meters over the top of the Andes before traveling west to the port of Arica on Chile's coast. These formidable logistical challenges mean each successful arrival of specialty coffee from Bolivia is something to be cherished.