Bolivia SAN IGNACIO Coffee Farm - Coffee Growing Story? Bolivia Coffee Brewing Method

Bolivia SAN IGNACIO Coffee Farm - Coffee Growing Story? Bolivia Coffee Brewing Method?

This coffee comes from the San Ignacio region of Caranavi, where the finest Bolivian coffee is grown. The beans come from the AECAR cooperative, located in the Entre Rios area of Caranavi state, Bolivia. The cooperative was established in 2001 and has 82 members with an average farm area of about 10 hectares. Its members include past winners of the Bolivia Cup of Excellence.

The coffee is organically certified. San Ignacio is a rural area in Ayopaya province, sitting between the city centers of La Paz and Cochabamba. While the Cochabamba department is known as "the granary of Bolivia," Ayopaya is a region of varied microclimates, from snow-capped peaks to tropical valleys. The area is rich in mineral resources and biodiversity and is still inhabited mainly by indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities. The warm climate of the tropical zone suits coffee plants well, and many families support themselves by growing coffee. Two rivers that branch north from the Beni River, the Rio Santa Elena and the Rio Cotacajes, wind through the valleys. Visitors can also stop near the beautiful Parque Nacional Isiboro-Secure.

Victor Mamani runs a coffee farm with his wife Aleja and their four young daughters, Yola, Sonia, Marisol, and Magali. But they spent a great deal of time, energy, and effort to get where they are. Victor and Aleja were not originally from the area; they began their coffee journey at "cafetales," coffee farms, in San Ignacio. After five years of hard work they were each able to buy their own coffee farm and moved permanently to San Ignacio in 2002.

Juana Mamami Huanca is a first-generation coffee producer from the San Ignacio cooperative. She began producing coffee on her farm at age 16, and now, at just 23, she placed second in Bolivia's Cup of Excellence. Juana entered the 2005 competition but did not win a Cup of Excellence award. Over the past two years she has focused on improving quality and is looking to compete again. Her farm covers six hectares in the Carrasco La Reserva area of Caranavi province, at an altitude of about 1,500 meters. "I always planned to take part," she says. "Now I plan to increase my production and my quality of life." She is now working to establish another half hectare of coffee.

Like many other coffee farmers in San Ignacio, the family's current coffee farm is 10 hectares (about 22 acres), four of which are dedicated to coffee production. It sits at an altitude of 1,615 meters (5,300 feet), and the coffee they grow is the Typica variety. The farm has abundant Inga and Cedar trees that provide excellent shade for the coffee plants. Production is carried out without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, using organic fertilizer instead.

Varieties: Typica (80%), Caturra (20%)

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendation:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 88°C

Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 4

Brewing method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First infusion with 25g water, let bloom for 25 seconds. Second infusion to 120g water, pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Extraction time around 2:00.

Analysis: The three-stage method clearly expresses the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains faster, pausing the pour helps extend the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a clean, washed Latin American coffee is what you enjoy, FrontStreet Coffee's Colombia Huila is an easy recommendation. Colombia is one of the few single-origin coffees sold under a country's name, and Huila is its most famous specialty region, ringed by mountains with growing altitudes above 1,500 meters. The country's most important rivers converge here, bringing abundant moisture and water resources.

Colombian coffee is generally built around soft florals and gentle fruit acidity, and Huila is a textbook example: balanced, sweet, and rounded, without the sharp edges that can put off newer drinkers. It is a coffee that is easy to like and hard to fault.

Roast it medium and brew it as a pour-over to keep the floral lift and the gentle acidity in focus, or use it as a mild, crowd-pleasing base for a home espresso.