Is Pour-Over Bolivian Coffee Good? How to Brew? Buena Vista Estate Organic Washed Bolivian Coffee

Is Bolivian Pour-Over Coffee Delicious? How to Brew It? What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Bolivian Coffee Finca Buena Vista Organic Washed Beans?

Flavor: clean and balanced, delicate and sweet, refined acidity, with notes of caramel, milk chocolate, fig, and cantaloupe.

Bolivia is a landlocked Andean highland country in South America. Over the past decade its coffee exports have declined annually, but it still produces some of the world's most outstanding coffee, as rare as a voice in an empty valley. Rodrigo built a first-class washing station in the Caranavi province to process fresh cherries from nearby farmers and adopted organic cultivation. Whether at The Roaster or The Coffee Collective, organic coffee is rarely seen on bean lists and is not deliberately emphasized. This organic Bolivian coffee, however, is both healthy and environmentally friendly, and it is extremely delicious, truly exceptional.

Bolivia Finca Buena Vista

In 2014, The Coffee Collective from Copenhagen found an organic coffee in Ethiopia that was natural processed. Since then, they wondered whether they could find a washed organic coffee. Early last year they cupped a batch of organic samples from Bolivia and were amazed. Curious how such delicious coffee could be grown organically, they visited the Bolivian farm producing it late last year: Finca Buena Vista.

Finca Buena Vista is located near Caranavi city and has both a washing station and a hulling facility to process fresh cherries delivered by nearby farmers. After blind-tasting all the different batches the estate purchased from nearby sources, they found that the organic coffee overwhelmingly outperformed the non-organic coffee: it was sweeter, cleaner, and had more layered acidity.

The owner of Buena Vista is Rodrigo. His family sits at the core of Bolivia's specialty coffee development and serves as a fortress for producing high-quality coffee. They teach farmers how to combat pests and disease, increase yields, and improve quality. This organic coffee was harvested in August-September 2016 by 10 coffee farmers from the Copacabana region. These 10 small farms delivered their harvested fresh cherries to the washing station at Buena Vista, where they underwent depulping, fermentation, and washing with extremely careful and rigorous processes. Because of the excellent quality, The Coffee Collective's purchase price exceeded the market price by 146%. The coffee is roasted to a light-medium level to achieve a balanced flavor.

Bolivia Finca Buena Vista Washed Organic

Origin: Bolivia
Region: Caranavi Province
Estate: Finca Buena Vista / Washing Station
Washing Station Owner: The Rodrigues Family
Producers: 10 nearby small coffee farmers
Altitude: 1500-1700 meters
Harvest: Selective manual picking
Varieties: Caturra, Typica, Catuai
Processing: Washed; sun and machine drying
Cultivation: Organic
Harvest Season: July-October annually
Harvest Time: August-September 2016
FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing Methods: Siphon, pour-over

Brewing Parameters

Grind Size: 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440)

KONO dripper, 15g of coffee, water temperature 88 degrees C, grind size 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

30g of water for the bloom, bloom time 30s

Stages: Pour water to 120ml, pause, then slowly pour to 225ml

That is: 30-120-225

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

This Bolivian lot is unusual for being both organic and washed, and its clean, delicate sweetness and refined acidity are the qualities to look for when choosing something similar. FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is a natural starting point: grown at 1,700-2,100 meters in southern Ethiopia, it is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body. Because the beans are smallholder-grown and were once processed and sold through village stations, it shares the traceable, cooperative character this article describes.

For a coffee that leans toward the cleaner, floral end of Ethiopia, FrontStreet's Gotiti Cooperative coffee is worth trying. Around 300 member farmers belong to the cooperative, which follows the most traditional washed processing and is often described as "the last pure land of Yirgacheffe." Stripping the fruit before drying makes the coffee's inherent aroma clearer, showing citrus and lemon and an elegant white floral note, bright and delicate overall. If you want more fruit intensity, FrontStreet's Kenya Small Tomato brings a different kind of clarity, with cherry-tomato and dark plum acidity over a clean, juicy body.

Both coffees respond well to the method used here, so FrontStreet Coffee suggests keeping the same gentle approach: a siphon or pour-over, a 1:15 ratio, 15g of coffee, and water at about 88 degrees C, poured in stages to protect the delicate acidity and sweetness.