Bolivia is hailed as an ideal place for growing coffee, yet its production has always been limited. Its coffee impresses with rich sweetness and soft acidity. At the 2017 WBC, Japanese competitor Miki Suzuki won the world runner-up title with a Bolivian Geisha, bringing this origin into the spotlight. The Java variety, known as Geisha's cousin, also exudes an elegant and distinctive flavor. Front Street Coffee once cupped a Coco Natural Java from the Rodriguez family—sweet and tangy, creamy and smooth. This article will walk you through the development history of Bolivian coffee, its cultivation models, production region distribution, and how the Rodriguez family drives specialty coffee forward, along with a detailed analysis of the roasting and brewing performance of this Waliki Estate Java coffee bean.

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Bolivia is a rather unique country. Although considered fertile ground for coffee growing, its production has always been low. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) vividly remembers the exquisite flavors of Bolivian coffee, which mostly manifest as abundant sweetness and soft acidity. At the 2017 World Barista Championship (WBC), Japanese competitor Miki Suzuki chose Bolivian Geisha coffee beans and, with superb skill and the deep flavors of Bolivian coffee, took the world runner-up title.

Speaking of Bolivian Geisha, Front Street cannot help but mention a Java coffee bean cupped recently. Java is practically the cousin variety of Bolivian Geisha, exuding a distinctive and elegant aura, sweet and tangy, with a creamy smooth texture.

Bolivia

Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, bordering Brazil. Its terrain is diverse, from the high peaks of the Andes to vast salt flats, with an average elevation exceeding 3,000 meters. The constitutional capital is Sucre, while the actual seat of government is La Paz, which sits at over 3,600 meters and is the highest capital in the world. The high altitude creates significant advantages for coffee cultivation, yet Bolivia's coffee industry remains weak, with annual production of only 223,000 bags (60 kg each).

There are multiple reasons for the low production. First, transportation conditions are harsh—roads in coffee-growing areas are rugged and steep, making it difficult to transport coffee out. The North Yungas Road is recognized as the world's most dangerous road, hugging cliffs with no guardrails, frequently shrouded in fog, and prone to rollover accidents. Hundreds of people die in traffic accidents each year, and this road is also known as the world's number one "Death Road" (El Camino de la Muerte). The terrible transportation poses a huge obstacle to coffee transport. In recent years, the Bolivian government has recognized the importance of safe transport for exports and is investing heavily in road construction.

Another key reason is Bolivia's sparse population of only about 10.5 million, with most people being quite poor. Growing more profitable coca leaves (for drugs) is more reliable, leading many farmers to abandon coffee, or even abandon their farms entirely. Growing coca requires large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which severely damages the soil.

In addition, when leaf rust struck in 2013, Bolivia lost 50% of its coffee production in just one year, directly becoming a minor coffee-producing country.

The Development History of Bolivian Coffee

In 1880, Bolivia had substantial coffee production, mostly concentrated in some large farms north of La Paz.

In 1991, the government promoted a plan for indigenous people to grow coffee, but did not prioritize coffee quality. Against the backdrop of government encouragement to grow coca leaves, which was four times more profitable than coffee, many farmers abandoned coffee and even completely abandoned their farms.

In the early 2000s, the United States strongly supported Bolivian agriculture, but because the Bolivian government supported coca cultivation, relations with the US deteriorated, and coffee farmers suffered the most. Later, under Bolivia's limited resumption of the drug war, many programs beneficial to coffee development were restarted—for example, COE was held with the support of US aid through USAID.

In 2004, Cup of Excellence (COE) was held in Bolivia. At that time, 13 specialty beans scored above 84 in cupping, and the champion bean scored as high as 90.44, driving green bean prices up accordingly.

In 2009, Bolivia participated in the COE competition for the last time. Due to political factors, Bolivia has still not returned to COE.

In 2013, leaf rust struck, and combined with the government's coca leaf policy, Bolivia's coffee production decreased by 70% over the previous decade, reducing it to a minor coffee-producing country.

In 2018, Bolivia signed a quality inspection agreement with China regarding Bolivian coffee exports.

In 2019, Bolivia's political turmoil made everything uncertain again. The coup paralyzed cities, and coffee exports became extremely difficult.

Cultivation Models

Bolivian coffee can usually be traced back to a single farm or cooperative. Due to land reform, landowners with vast tracts of land have decreased significantly since 1991. The 23,000 families producing coffee in Bolivia all grow coffee on small farms ranging from about 1.2 to 8 hectares.

Coffee Producing Regions

Bolivia's main coffee-producing region is Yungas, with cultivation at altitudes of 800-2,300 meters and a harvest period from July to November. 95% of Bolivia's coffee comes from this region. Yungas is located on the eastern side of the Andes, covered by an entire forest that stretches from Peru across Bolivia into Argentina. The region has some of the world's highest-altitude coffee and is also Bolivia's oldest coffee-producing region. The government seat of La Paz mentioned earlier is located in the western part of this region.

Besides Yungas, Santa Cruz and Beni also grow coffee. Santa Cruz is located in Bolivia's far east, but because its altitude is not high enough, high-quality coffee is rare there, accounting for about 3% of national production.

The Rodriguez Family

Rodriguez

Bolivia's specialty coffee development can be said to be thanks to the Rodriguez family. The Rodriguez family began growing coffee in 1986. Due to policies, natural disasters, and other factors, Bolivia's coffee estates gradually decreased. To develop the coffee industry, the Rodriguez family began acquiring land and establishing new estates to grow high-quality specialty coffee, such as Bolivian Geisha coffee beans.

The Rodriguez family coffee estates comprise a total of 12 estates, 4 in Santa Cruz and 8 in Caranavi, La Paz. The estates achieve integrated harvesting, processing, packaging, and exporting.

[El Sol de Manana Tomorrow's Sun Project] was a plan initiated in 2016 by the Rodriguez family to support small farmers in growing high-quality coffee. By providing coffee farmers with more vocational training and knowledge skills, discounts on purchasing the latest coffee seeds and other related consulting, as well as fairer trading prices; at the same time, setting up incentive mechanisms for farmers who cultivate seriously and reach a certain cupping score, thereby improving local coffee quality and bringing farmers' income and quality into a virtuous cycle of sustainable operation.

Front Street previously cupped a batch of washed Java Typica coffee beans from the Tomorrow's Sun Project, with rich flavors and mouthfeel, soft strawberry acidity, caramel sweetness, and a slight cocoa and almond finish.

Coffee Varieties

Bolivia's traditional coffee varieties mainly include Typica, Catuai, Red and Yellow Caturra, etc. With the wave of specialty coffee, over the past two decades, multiple coffee estates have introduced varieties including Bolivian Geisha, Pacamara, SL28, etc. The Bolivian Geisha coffee beans of the Rodriguez family come from the world's most renowned Hacienda La Esmeralda.

Java (Java Nica) comes from an Ethiopian branch called Abisinia, and is a native ancient variety. This branch is actually the same branch as Geisha, from the same place of origin, and likewise possesses excellent floral and fruity flavors. It is precisely for this reason that Java is often called Geisha's cousin.

However, Front Street must remind you that the Java mentioned here is different from Indonesia's Java. Indonesian Java is actually a synonym for a coffee-producing region, while Bolivia's Java is a coffee variety; moreover, Indonesia's Java has lost its innate excellent genes through hundreds of years of shuffling. The two belong to different branches.

Front Street will first briefly review how Java came to the Americas. After Indonesia, the Java variety first spread to the nearby Timor island group, then to Cameroon in East Africa, and was first released in Cameroon in 1980 for farmers to cultivate.

In 1991, in order to provide small coffee growers with more variety choices while also accommodating conditions such as low fertilizer requirements, CIRAD (International Center for Agricultural Research and Development) introduced Java to Costa Rica, and it was subsequently brought to various countries in Central and South America, where Java was found to perform well in flavor at high altitudes.

As the Java variety was planted in Central America, the Mierisch family in Nicaragua was the first to bring this variety to the attention of the specialty coffee market; and in order to distinguish Indonesian Java coffee from the Java variety, they named the Central American Java variety JAVA NICA (meaning Java variety from Nicaragua). Java coffee has emerged in Central and South America in recent years, and upon arriving in Bolivia, it received careful cultivation from the Rodriguez family.

This year, Front Street cupped a Bolivian Coco Natural Java coffee bean, which came from the Rodriguez family. It comes from a small estate called Waliki, located in the Bolinda community in a dense, steep valley about 10 kilometers outside Caranavi town in La Paz, Bolivia, at an altitude above 1,600 meters. The area has a cold climate, and the coffee growing cycle is relatively long. In the following content, Front Street will introduce this bean in detail.

Processing Methods

From the 1990s to the 2000s, thanks to foreign-funded development projects that established coffee washing stations, the vast majority of Bolivia's small farmers used traditional washed processing. A small number of large estates, besides classic processing methods such as natural, washed, and honey, are also trying special processing methods such as anaerobic fermentation and yeast. Among these few large estates is the Rodriguez family.

As mentioned earlier, Front Street obtained a Bolivian coffee bean using Coco Natural processing, and the Coco Natural processing was developed by the Rodriguez family. After selection and weighing, the coffee cherries are carefully washed and placed on raised African drying beds to dry, then turned over every hour. After about a week, the coffee cherries are placed in a cocoa dryer.

Cocoa dryers had never been seen used for coffee bean processing before, but Pedro of the Rodriguez family has always been innovating and trying different processing techniques, and discovered that cocoa dryers can slowly and consistently dry coffee beans at low temperatures, thereby reducing the impact of weather conditions.

The coffee beans are placed in large steel drums at a temperature not exceeding 40 degrees Celsius for about 35 hours, turned over every 30 minutes.

After the coffee beans are dried, they are transported to La Paz to rest, and then hulled at a dry factory. At this factory, machinery is used for careful coffee hulling and sorting; in addition, manual sorting under ultraviolet and natural light is also required.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Bolivia Waliki Estate Coco Natural Java

Bolivia Waliki Coco Natural Java

Coffee Region: La Paz

Growing Altitude: 1,600 meters

Coffee Variety: Java

Processing Method: Coco Natural

Roasting Recommendations

In order to bring out the unique aroma and juicy character of the Java variety, Front Street adopted a light roast profile.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Bolivia Java Coffee Bean Roast Curve

Cupping Flavors

Dry Aroma: fermented aroma, grape

Wet Aroma: honey, floral

Palate: grape, citrus, honey, nut, cream

How Front Street Brews

Front Street took into consideration that this Java bean is light-roasted. Light-roasted beans have a lower extraction rate of coffee compounds than dark-roasted ones, so in order to ensure sufficient extraction of flavors, a higher water temperature was used for brewing, and a finer grind size was also chosen.

Flavor Description

Slight fermented note, grape, slight nut, floral, medium acidity, juicy mouthfeel.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.