What is the Sol de la Mañana Program? Caravani Region Introduction Bolivia COE Program

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A not-so-wealthy country, a not-so-famous coffee-producing nation, an extremely difficult path—yet the coffee farmers, driven by their conviction, have never given up. What FrontStreet Coffee wants to share today is about a small coffee-producing country, but their perseverance and persistence in coffee are truly admirable. This country is Bolivia.

The Geography and History of Bolivian Coffee

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, a landlocked nation bordering Brazil and Colombia. Although a country with great potential for coffee exports, its production has always been quite scarce. The conditions for growing coffee are excellent, but the challenges are extremely daunting, resulting in an extraordinarily rich agricultural history built on very, very difficult land.

Coffee cultivation can be traced back to 1880, when all production was basically associated with owners of some large farms north of La Paz. In 1991, the government promoted a plan for indigenous people to invest in coffee cultivation, but quality was not emphasized. The reason was Bolivia's lagging economic development and infrastructure—Bolivia remains the poorest country in South America. Additionally, Bolivia's naturally diverse terrain, combined with poor infrastructure, has become a key factor that harms coffee processing, transportation, and quality.

Bolivia is located in the western center of South America, with an area of 1,098,581 square kilometers, about three times the size of Montana. Two mountain ranges of the Andes cross western Bolivia, forming the country's three major geographical regions: the western mountainous highlands and plateau regions, the subtropical Yungas and temperate valleys on the eastern slopes, and the tropical lowlands stretching across the north. The eastern region is known as the Oriente.

Bolivian coffee beans are concentrated in the rural areas of Yungas, with about 95% of cultivation. Other developing regions include Santa Cruz, Beni, Cochabamba, Tarija, and Pando. Although commercial farms and estates exist, government land reforms have expropriated most large land areas and redistributed them to rural families. These small plots of land range from 1-8 hectares and produce 85-95% of Bolivian coffee, most of which is Arabica coffee grown organically.

Tomorrow's Sun Program

Bolivia's "Tomorrow's Sun Program" is a comprehensive plan to elevate Bolivian coffee. This requires investing significant money and effort to guide small farmers, including technical support, breeding, pruning, harvesting, and other important techniques. Additionally, it purchases small farmers' coffee at high prices, ensuring that farmers' income matches the coffee quality, creating a positive cycle.

Challenges Faced by Bolivian Coffee

First: Competition with coca leaves and lack of support from government or national agricultural institutions.

The government encourages coca leaf cultivation, which is easier to harvest and yields year-round, providing farmers with higher profits. However, coca leaf cultivation requires extensive use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, causing extreme damage to the soil. In other words, after several years of growing coca, the soil becomes barren and unable to grow any crops.

Second: Leaf rust disease.

In 2013, leaf rust disease ran rampant (a type of mold that attacks coffee leaves, preventing coffee trees from photosynthesis).

In just that year, Bolivia lost nearly 50% of its coffee production.

These factors combined have reduced Bolivia's coffee production by 70% over the past decade, relegating it to a minor coffee-producing country.

To prevent these wonderful flavors from being lost, the Rodriguez family, one of the main forces in Bolivian specialty coffee, began helping coffee farmers improve coffee quality, thereby increasing profits. This gave birth to the "Tomorrow's Sun" program.

They provide comprehensive technical guidance in variety selection, cultivation, and harvesting, and have established large processing plants to help small farmers complete the processing. They also provide subsequent sales, export, and other services, greatly increasing small farmers' enthusiasm and income levels. Through practical actions, they have protected the rapidly declining Bolivian specialty coffee industry.

The Rodriguez Family and Bolivian Coffee Excellence

Bolivia's most famous producing region is Caranavi, whose most notable feature is the Yungas Road, nicknamed the "Road of Death" as the world's most dangerous road. In 1995, it was named "the world's most dangerous road" by the Inter-American Development Bank.

For the past thirty years, Pedro Rodriguez has been dedicated to bringing Bolivian coffee beans to the world. Although Bolivia has ideal conditions for growing specialty coffee, years of agricultural challenges and failures have led many farmers to believe that the dream of success and prosperity was out of reach. To confront these difficulties head-on, Pedro bought his own land and sent his children to agricultural school, while also establishing educational and demonstration coffee plantations. In 2014, he launched the "Tomorrow's Sun Program," which aims to educate growers to produce high-quality Bolivian coffee beans under responsible attitudes and economically sustainable conditions.

Bolivia has all the ingredients to become a high-quality coffee producer, such as altitude, fertile soil, and consistent rainy seasons. However, rugged terrain and lack of infrastructure and technology make post-harvest quality control a challenging task. Funding from development agencies is working to establish processing facilities in rural areas so that farmers can access resources that help ensure quality beans while also adding value to their products. To date, more than 50 small coffee farmers have joined the "Tomorrow's Sun Program."

Compared to other Latin American countries (such as Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala), Bolivia produces very little coffee. The specialty coffee industry began to develop in the 1990s and 2000s, when development projects funded by foreign aid established coffee washing stations and provided farmers with training programs on how to properly harvest and dry coffee to select only good beans, prevent fermentation, and maintain quality. The highlight of these coffee training programs was the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition held in Bolivia from 2004 to 2009. This famous program trained farmers in quality control techniques and invited international coffee judges to select the best Bolivian coffee beans. Jorge Valverde was the coordinator of the Bolivia COE program from 2007 to 2009.

Unfortunately, the Bolivia COE program was canceled after the 2009 competition because the Bolivian national government was very anti-American and did not want USAID to fund any more development programs in Bolivia, and there were no other funding sources for the COE program.

Coffee Processing Methods

Washed Processing Method

Coffee cherries are rinsed with clean water, and unripe fruits floating on the surface are removed. Most of the pulp is separated from the coffee beans using a depulper, and the parchment beans are guided to a clean water tank. After about 16-36 hours of natural fermentation, the surface mucilage is dissolved and then washed. Continue sun-drying for 1-3 weeks until the moisture content drops to 12%, then use a huller to remove the outer shell.

FrontStreet Coffee Tomorrow's Sun Program Example

Country: Bolivia

Estate Owner: Julio Gonzales

Variety: Caturra

Altitude: 1600-1900 meters

Caturra Variety

Caturra is a natural variant of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its tree is not as tall as Bourbon, being more compact. Caturra is suitable for cultivation at altitudes of 700-1750 meters, with better flavors at higher elevations. In terms of flavor, it often has refreshing fruit acidity and a light sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters

Dripper: V60

Dose: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:15

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: BG#6S

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique

After a 30-second bloom with 30g of water, pour in a circular motion to 125g. Wait until the water level drops by half, then continue pouring to 225g. Total extraction time: 2 minutes.

FrontStreet Coffee Flavor Description

Citrus acidity, berries, strawberry, cocoa aftertaste.

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