Introduction to Bolivian Coffee Bean Varieties, Characteristics, and History - Waliki Estate Elevation and Flavor Description

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The History of Coffee Cultivation in Bolivia

Bolivia is located in central South America, bordered to the north by the coffee-producing giant Brazil and the mysterious coffee nation of Peru. Bolivia is known as the "country of high mountains," with its capital La Paz situated at an altitude of 3,660 meters. Even the arabica coffee, which thrives at high altitudes, cannot be cultivated in such cold conditions. However, in the Yungas region northeast of La Paz, adjacent to the basin, the altitude is slightly lower and the land is fertile, making it very suitable for coffee cultivation. Therefore, Bolivia is a country where coffee is grown at "lower altitudes."

Bolivia's coffee cultivation has a long history, dating back to 1880, when production was primarily conducted through large-scale farming models. However, during the subsequent period from 1932 to 1983, Bolivia faced internal and external troubles with political turmoil, causing the coffee cultivation industry to stagnate or even regress. In 1991, the stabilized Bolivian government sought to revitalize the national economy and encouraged indigenous people to join coffee cultivation programs, but at that time, coffee quality was not prioritized. Due to poor national infrastructure and difficult transportation, the development of the Bolivian coffee industry was limited.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee beans produced in Bolivia are of good quality, yet Bolivian beans are rarely seen on the market. The main coffee-producing regions in Bolivia are the Yungas and La Paz areas, where infrastructure is relatively underdeveloped, lacking large-scale wet processing mills. When coffee ripens, farmers must harvest the fully ripe cherries and immediately transport them to La Paz, which is at a higher altitude than these regions, for processing. The roads from Yungas to La Paz are perilous, earning the nickname "Death Road." During transportation, coffee cherries can easily ferment and rot, producing unpleasant flavors such as pungent aromas.

Yungas is located in the Andean foothills east of La Paz and is a rugged agricultural region. The roads to Yungas are treacherous and dangerous, making it difficult to transport coffee out. Despite these disadvantages, coffee from this region is very unique due to its distinctive microclimates and incredible altitude. The world's highest coffee plantation, Finca Takesi, is also located here, with an altitude of 2,500 meters.

Caranavi in La Paz is located north of Yungas. This region is also situated in the foothills of the Andes Mountains but does not reach the same altitude as Yungas. The average altitude in Caranavi is 1,500 meters, resulting in coffee with less complexity and more chocolate notes.

Through extensive coffee sourcing and cupping, FrontStreet Coffee finally found a Bolivian coffee with distinctive flavor characteristics—this coffee comes from the Valiki Estate and is of the Java variety.

FrontStreet Coffee Bolivia Valiki Estate

Region: La Paz, Bolivia

Estate: Valiki Estate

Altitude: 1,600 meters

Variety: Java

Processing Method: Cocoa Natural

Coffee Varieties

The Java variety is locally known in Bolivia as the "long bean variety," named for its elongated appearance. Its official name is Java. Java is a fascinating coffee variety—its name suggests a strong connection to Indonesia, but in fact, Java originated from coffee trees in Ethiopia's original forests, collected by local communities and then transmitted through Yemen to Indonesia, where it was named Java. Previously, it was widely believed that Java was a variant of Typica, but after genetic comparison, it was discovered that Java is actually the Ethiopian coffee variety Abysinia.

Processing Method

During the harvest season, the estate hires pickers from the Borinda community, who carefully select coffee fruits during the picking period.

These pickers are trained to select only ripe coffee cherries, and during the harvest season, the estate conducts multiple rounds of coffee fruit picking to ensure that coffee cherries are harvested at optimal ripeness.

The estate uses crates to ensure coffee is not damaged during transport and maintains air circulation around the coffee cherries, preventing unnecessary early fermentation. After selection and weighing, coffee cherries are carefully washed and placed on raised African drying beds, then turned every hour. After about a week, the coffee cherries are placed in cocoa dryers.

Cocoa dryers had never been used for coffee bean processing before, but Pedro Rodriguez of the Rodriguez family has been innovating and experimenting with different processing techniques, discovering that cocoa dryers can dry coffee beans slowly and consistently at low temperatures, thereby reducing the impact of weather conditions. The coffee beans are placed in large steel drums at temperatures not exceeding 40°C for about 35 hours, turned every 30 minutes.

After the coffee beans are dried, they are transported to La Paz for resting, then undergo hulling at Agricafe's drying facility, La Luna. At this facility, mechanical equipment is used for careful coffee dehulling and sorting, followed by manual sorting under ultraviolet and natural light.

Fresh Roasting by FrontStreet Coffee

When roasting this cocoa natural-processed Java, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster uses a medium-light roast level to highlight the fermentation notes brought by the processing method and the inherent floral, berry, and nut characteristics of the Java beans. For brewing medium-light roasted beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a water temperature of 90-91°C, as higher temperatures can extract aromatic compounds and acidity from light roasts. Because medium-light roasted beans have harder density, increasing water temperature enhances extraction efficiency from the coffee grounds, avoiding unpleasant flavors such as sharp acidity.

Charge temperature at 170°C, initial heat at 120, air damper at 3. When reaching 111°C, maintain the heat and open the damper to 4. During this stage, the beans gradually transform from the original green color to yellow, and the grassy aroma of raw beans slowly disappears as they enter the dehydration stage. At 6'26", the beans reach the yellowing point, developing a sweet aroma similar to toasted bread. At 146°C, reduce heat to 100, keeping the damper at 4.

At 9'38", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, with the toasted bread aroma clearly transitioning to coffee aroma—this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 10'18", with damper opened to 4. After first crack, develop for 1'00", then discharge at 190°C.

Cupping by FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping immediately after roasting trials to evaluate flavors and determine whether to optimize the roasting profile for better flavor characteristics. The final flavor profile of this Bolivia Cocoa Natural Java is as follows:

Brewing Method Shared by FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee uses a V60 dripper to brew this coffee. The V60 conical dripper has a large hole, and together with its unique spiral ribs, allows air to be expelled more easily, thereby improving extraction quality. The body might not be as full, but its high concentration brings out sweetness, acidity, and distinct aromas, which are its major characteristics.

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Grind Size: Fine sugar (78% pass-through rate with #20 standard sieve)

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Coffee Amount: 15 grams

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Technique: First, pour 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. During this time, the coffee grounds expand very fully. After blooming, pour 95 grams in circular motions from center outward (scale shows around 125 grams), with abundant golden coffee bubbles emerging. Complete this pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 grams (scale shows around 225 grams), completing in about 1 minute and 40 seconds. Complete extraction between 1'55"-2'00", remove the dripper. This coffee doesn't require excessive stirring during brewing—elegant, slow circular pouring is recommended to prevent over-extraction.

Brewing Flavor: This coffee has a subtle fermentation note, with black grape and chocolate sweetness from the natural processing, along with fruity acidity.

Important Notice :

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