Bolivian Specialty Coffee What Are Bolivia's Unique Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Recently, FrontStreet Coffee introduced a coffee bean from Bolivia called Bolivia Cocoa Natural Caturra. We often hear that the altitude at which coffee is grown greatly affects the flavor of the beans – the higher the altitude, the better the coffee's flavor, so coffee cultivation tends to move to higher elevations. However, there's something peculiar you might not know.

There's a place that does the opposite – it insists on growing coffee at lower altitudes. This place is Bolivia. Unlike other coffee-producing regions, Bolivia's coffee requires driving for several hours from cities at 3,600 meters elevation, continuously descending to areas below 2,000 meters where coffee cultivation can take place.

Bolivia's high altitude and diverse terrain create high-quality specialty coffee with clean, bright fruit acidity. Bolivia has been a dark horse in specialty coffee in recent years, with various estates located in the high-altitude, complex terrain of South America, each possessing unique characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee today introduces three estates and Bolivia's special coffee bean processing methods.

Bolivia Coffee

Towering peaks that pierce the clouds, dreamlike salt lakes, grasslands rich in wildlife... this superior natural environment and resources make it a cradle for coffee. Among South American coffee-producing countries, Bolivia's coffee production might be insignificant, but this beautiful nation brings the world specialty coffee as charming as its scenery, so local people proudly call Bolivian coffee "the taste of paradise."

Unlike other coffee-producing regions, Bolivia's coffee requires driving for several hours from cities at 3,600 meters elevation, continuously descending to areas below 2,000 meters where coffee cultivation can take place. Among these routes, the North Yungas Road is recognized as the world's most dangerous road. The mountain road basically clings to cliff edges without guardrails, and with frequent fog, accidents are common, earning it the nickname "Death Road."

Alpaca Estate

The estate is named after Bolivia's adorable alpacas. Although the estate is not large in area, its products are world-renowned. Here, high altitude, fertile soil, and lush forests provide all the natural resources suitable for coffee growth. The estate owner hopes to use this estate to demonstrate modern cultivation techniques and concepts to local farmers, letting them know that new coffee trees can coexist with old ones.

Alpaca Estate is an old estate that had been operating for 15 years before meeting Pedro Company, which strives to promote Bolivian coffee beans on the international stage. They also accepted guidance from Pedro Company, gradually separating different coffee bean varieties for cultivation and adopting more systematic methods to produce high-quality specialty coffee beans.

Alpaca Estate grows numerous coffee varieties, including Bourbon, Geisha/Java, SL28/SL34, Caturra, and more.

FLORIPONDIO Datura Coffee Estate

Floripondio Estate and the Castle Ruins Estate are located in the same region – the Samaipata area, which, despite its high altitude, is not ideal for coffee cultivation. However, they found suitable microclimates and excellent soil plots in this region. Thus, Floripondio Estate became an experimental-level specialty coffee estate! The estate plants over 50 varieties of specialty coffee, including Red Caturra, SL28/SL34, Batian, Pacamara, Java, and more.

It's worth mentioning that Floripondio Estate truly has many datura plants – a neurotoxic plant. In traditional culture, witches would consume its boiled soup to achieve communication with deities. Floripondio Estate frequently reminds visitors not to touch or smell the datura plants.

GAVILAN Provincial Eagle Coffee Estate

The owner of Provincial Eagle Estate, Martin, grew up in Caranavi, Bolivia's coffee hub. Local coffee farmers had abandoned coffee cultivation due to more than a decade of market decline. Martin had also given up, but later met Pedro Company and decided to start anew, elevating Bolivian coffee beans to new heights, thus establishing Provincial Eagle Estate.

Provincial Eagle Estate is a young estate with excellent capabilities, and we believe that soon there will be opportunities to taste their coffee!

Bolivia's Unique Coffee Bean Processing Methods

We all know that coffee bean processing methods are largely related to local climate, especially factors like sunshine duration and water accessibility, as well as the development level of local processing facilities.

Due to Bolivia's unpredictable weather in coffee-growing regions, the natural drying schedule must be very rapid to avoid rain. They developed a method called cocoa natural processing, where the beans are turned every half hour during sun-drying, and after three days when not completely dry, they are transferred to drying machines for secondary drying to reduce moisture content to 12.5% to complete the process. This fermentation process, with turning every thirty minutes, achieves a cleanliness and brightness that typical natural processing cannot reach.

During the washed processing, they discovered that some Bolivian coffee beans are suitable for traditional methods using water and fermentation bacteria to remove mucilage, while others are suitable for fermentation without water. They developed a 16-hour low-temperature waterless fermented washed process – quite special! The original water-fermented washed processing method would ferment in water for 18 hours.

Whether using water or waterless fermentation for washed processing, great attention is paid to every detail, strictly monitoring moisture content, Brix sugar levels, pH values, and more throughout the process – all to produce world-class coffee!

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