Why does java variety coffee grow well in Bolivia?

Bolivia offers high altitude and varied terrain that suit coffee cultivation, yet total output stays limited. That combination gives Bolivian coffee abundant sweetness and soft acidity. The Java variety, a cousin of Bolivian Geisha, shows elegant flavors with pleasant sweetness and acidity and a creamy, smooth mouthfeel that has drawn attention from competition-level baristas.

The country's coffee trade has faced rough roads, competition from coca cultivation, and a leaf rust outbreak in 2013. Recovery efforts center on the Rodriguez family and the El Sol de Manana program, which backs distinctive varieties such as Coco Natural Java. High elevations above 3,000 meters shape the growing conditions behind these cup profiles.

Although Bolivia is hailed as an ideal place for coffee cultivation, its production has always been limited. The high altitude and diverse terrain give the coffee rich sweetness and soft acidity. It was with Bolivian Geisha that Miki Suzuki, runner-up of the 2017 WBC, won attention. However, treacherous roads, the temptation of coca cultivation, and the blow of leaf rust in 2013 have repeatedly brought twists and turns to the coffee industry of this landlocked South American country. From the glory of the COE competition to the export difficulties amid political turmoil, the revival of Bolivian specialty coffee cannot be separated from the perseverance of the Rodriguez family, who promote the El Sol de Manana program and have cultivated distinctive bean varieties such as Coco Natural Java. This article will guide you through Bolivia's coffee-producing regions, historical context, and variety flavors, and Front Street Coffee also shares its cupping experience.

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Bolivia is a rather interesting country. Although it is hailed as a paradise for coffee cultivation, its production has always remained low. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is deeply impressed by the delicate flavors of Bolivian coffee, which often presents abundant sweetness and soft acidity in the cup. At the 2017 World Barista Championship (WBC), Japanese competitor Miki Suzuki selected Bolivian Geisha coffee beans and, relying on superb skills and the profound flavor expression of Bolivian coffee, won the world runner-up title. Speaking of Bolivian Geisha, Front Street cannot help but mention a Java coffee bean it cupped previously. Java can be called a cousin variety of Bolivian Geisha, exuding elegant and distinctive flavors, with pleasant sweetness and acidity and a creamy, smooth mouthfeel.

Bolivia

Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, adjacent to Brazil. The country has diverse terrain, from the towering peaks of the Andes to vast salt plains, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters. The constitutional capital is Sucre, while the actual seat of government is La Paz, which sits at an altitude of more than 3,600 meters and is the highest capital in the world. The high altitude creates significant advantages for coffee cultivation, but Bolivia's coffee industry remains weak, with annual production of only 223,000 bags (60 kg per bag).

There are several reasons for the low production. First, transportation conditions are poor. The roads in coffee-growing areas are rugged and dangerous, making it difficult to transport coffee out. North Yungas Road is recognized as the most dangerous road in the world, clinging to cliffs without guardrails, often shrouded in fog, and rollover accidents occur frequently. Hundreds of people die in traffic accidents every year, so it is also called the world's number one "Death Road" (El Camino de la Muerte). The poor transportation creates enormous difficulties for coffee transport. In recent years, the Bolivian government has recognized the importance of safe transportation for exports and is investing heavily in road construction.

Another important reason lies in Bolivia's sparse population of only 10.5 million, with most people living in considerable poverty. Growing more profitable coca leaves (used for drugs) is more secure, leading many farmers to abandon coffee and even completely desert their farms. Cultivating coca requires large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which cause great damage to the soil.

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

The Development History of Bolivian Coffee

In 1880, Bolivia had substantial coffee production, basically located on some large farms north of La Paz.

In 1991, the government promoted a plan for indigenous people to grow coffee, but it did not attach importance to coffee quality. Against the backdrop of the government encouraging coca leaf cultivation, whose profits were four times those of coffee, many farmers abandoned coffee and even completely deserted their farms.

In the early 2000s, the United States strongly supported Bolivian agriculture, but because the Bolivian government supported coca cultivation, relations with the United States deteriorated, and coffee farmers suffered the most. Later, under Bolivia's limited resumption of the war on drugs, many programs conducive to coffee development were restarted, such as the COE, which was held with the support of US aid from USAID.

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

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

In 2013, leaf rust struck, and combined with the government's coca leaf policy, Bolivia's coffee production decreased by 70% over the past decade, reducing it to a small 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 faced numerous difficulties.

Cultivation Model

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

In addition to Yungas, Santa Cruz and Beni also grow coffee. Santa Cruz is located in the easternmost part of Bolivia, but because its altitude is not high enough, high-quality coffee is rare there, and its cultivation volume accounts for about 3% of the country.

The Rodriguez Family

Rodriguez

The development of Bolivian specialty coffee can be said to owe much to the Rodriguez family. The Rodriguez family began growing coffee in 1986. Due to the influence of policies, natural disasters, and other factors, the number of coffee estates in Bolivia gradually decreased. In order to develop the coffee industry, the Rodriguez family began buying 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 integrate harvesting, processing, packaging, and exporting.

[El Sol de Manana Project] was a program initiated in 2016 by the Rodriguez family to support smallholders in growing high-quality coffee. By providing coffee farmers with more vocational training and knowledge and skills, discounts on the purchase of the latest coffee seeds and other related consultation, as well as fairer transaction prices; at the same time, it set up an incentive mechanism for coffee 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 El Sol de Manana 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, and so on. With the promotion of the specialty coffee wave, over the past two decades, many coffee estates have introduced varieties including Bolivian Geisha, Pacamara, SL28, and others, while the Rodriguez family's Bolivian Geisha coffee beans come from the world's most famous Hacienda La Esmeralda.

Java (Java Nica) comes from an Ethiopian branch called Abisinia and is an ancient native variety. This branch is actually the same branch as Geisha, with the same place of origin and similarly excellent floral and fruity flavors. For this reason, Java is often called Geisha's cousin.

However, Front Street should remind everyone that the Java mentioned here is different from Indonesian Java. Indonesian Java is actually a synonym for a coffee-producing region, while Bolivian Java is a coffee variety; moreover, Indonesian Java has lost its innate excellent genes through centuries of movement, and 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 to farmers for cultivation in Cameroon in 1980.

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

As the Java variety was planted in Central America, the Mierisch family of Nicaragua was among the first to draw the specialty coffee market's attention to this variety; and in order to distinguish Indonesian Java coffee from the Java variety, they named the Central American Java variety JAVA NICA (meaning Java from Nicaragua). In recent years, Java coffee has emerged in Central and South America, 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, La Paz, Bolivia, at an altitude of more than 1,600 meters. The climate in this area is cold, and the coffee growing cycle is relatively long. Front Street will introduce this bean in detail below.

Processing Methods

From the 1990s to the 2000s, thanks to development projects funded by foreign aid that established coffee washing stations, the vast majority of Bolivian smallholders adopted the traditional washed processing method. A small number of large estates, in addition to classic processing methods such as natural, washed, and honey, are also trying special processing methods such as anaerobic fermentation and yeast. The Rodriguez family is among this small number of large estates.

As mentioned earlier, Front Street obtained a Bolivian coffee bean processed using Coco Natural, and the Coco Natural process 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 every hour. After about a week, the coffee cherries are placed into a cocoa dryer.

Previously, cocoa dryers had never been seen used in coffee bean processing, but Pedro of the Rodriguez family has always been innovating and trying different processing techniques, and discovered that cocoa dryers can dry coffee beans slowly and continuously 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 once every 30 minutes.

After the coffee beans are dried, they are transported to La Paz to rest, and then hulled at a dry mill. At this mill, 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

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