Bolivia is an interesting place. Although it is known as a paradise for growing coffee, its yield has never been high. Front Street Coffee is very impressed by the exquisite flavor of Bolivian coffee. The flavor of Bolivian coffee is mainly reflected in rich sweetness and soft acidity. WBC in 2017(World Barista Competition)In the competition, Japanese player Miki Suzuki used Gesha coffee beans from Bolivia. With his superb technology and the deep flavor of Bolivian coffee, he won the world runner-up.Speaking of Bolivian Gesha, Front Street had to cup a Java coffee bean some time in advance. Java can be said to be a cousin of Bolivian Gesha, exuding a unique and elegant flavor, sweet and sour, and creamy smooth taste.Bolivia borders Brazil and is a landlocked country in South America. Bolivia has diverse terrain, from the peaks of the Andes to vast salt plains, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters. The legal capital is Sucre, and the actual government seat is La Paz. With an altitude of more than 3,600 meters, La Paz is the highest capital in the world. The high altitude brings great advantages to coffee cultivation, but Bolivia's coffee industry is still weak, with an annual output of only 223,000 sacks.(60kg/bag)。 The low yield is caused by several reasons. First, transportation is inconvenient. The roads in coffee growing areas are often rugged and dangerous, making it difficult to transport coffee. Beiyangos（North Yungas Road）The highway is recognized as the most dangerous road in the world. The mountain road is basically close to the edge of the cliff, and there are no guardrails. It appears in foggy days and cars often roll over. Hundreds of people die in traffic accidents here every year, and some people call it the world's number one "road of death."(El Camino de la Muerte), poor traffic conditions also create huge difficulties for coffee transportation. Over the years, the Bolivian government has learned that safe transportation is important for exports and is investing heavily in road construction.
There is another very important reason. Bolivia has a small population, only 10.5 million people. Most of the people are quite poor. Coca leaves are more profitable to grow.(used as a drug)Greater security has caused many farmers to abandon coffee or even abandon their farms altogether. Coca cultivation requires the use of large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which is extremely damaging to the soil. In addition, when leaf rust struck in 2013, Bolivia lost 50% of its coffee production in just one year, turning it into a small coffee-producing country.The development history of coffee in BoliviaIn 1880, Bolivia had a lot of coffee production, basically on some large farms north of La Paz.In 1991, the government promoted a plan for indigenous people to invest in coffee cultivation, but did not pay attention to the quality of the coffee. Then the government encouraged the cultivation of coca leaves, which were four times more profitable than coffee, causing many farmers to abandon coffee or even abandon their farms altogether.In the early 2000s, the United States strongly supported Bolivia's agriculture, but relations deteriorated because the Bolivian government supported coca leaf cultivation, causing coffee farmers to suffer deeply. Later, when Bolivia resumed a limited anti-drug war, many coffee development plans were restarted. For example, COE was held with the support of USAID.2004 Cup of Excellence(COE for short)Held in Bolivia, there were 13 premium bean cups with a total score of over 84 points at that time, and the champion bean scored as high as 90.44 points. The price of green beans also increased accordingly.In 2009, Bolivia participated in the COE competition for the last time. Due to political factors, Bolivia has not yet returned to the COE.In 2013, the leaf rust disease struck, and coupled with the government's coca leaf policy, Bolivia's coffee production decreased by 70% in the past decade, further reducing Bolivia to a small coffee-producing country.In 2018, Bolivia and China signed a quality inspection agreement on Bolivian coffee exports.In 2019, the political chaos in Bolivia made everything unclear again. The coup paralyzed the city and made coffee exports difficult.Bolivian coffee can often be traced back to a single farm or cooperative. Due to land reform, the number of landowners with large landholdings has decreased significantly since 1991. The 23,000 coffee-producing families in Bolivia grow coffee on small farms ranging from about 1.2 to 8 hectares.Bolivia’s main coffee production area is Yongas（Yungas）, the planting altitude is 800-2300 meters, and the harvest period is from July to November. 95% of Bolivia's coffee is produced in this area. Yangas（Yungas）Located on the east side of the Andes, it is covered by an entire forest that comes from Peru, across Bolivia and into Argentina. The production area has one of the best high-altitude coffees in the world and is also the oldest coffee production area in Bolivia. La Paz, the government seat mentioned earlier, is located in the west of the production area.Except Yangas（Yungas）, and Santa Cruz（Santa Cruz）, Beni grows coffee. santa cruz（Santa Cruz）It is located in the easternmost part of Bolivia. However, because the altitude is not high enough, high-quality coffee is rare, and the planting volume accounts for about 3% of the country's total.The development of specialty coffee in Bolivia can be said to be attributed to the Rodriguez family. The Rodriguez family has been growing coffee since 1986. Due to various influences such as policies and natural disasters, the number of coffee estates in Bolivia has gradually decreased. In order to develop the coffee industry, the Rodriguez family began to acquire land and build new estates to grow high-quality specialty coffee, such as Bolivian Geisha coffee beans. Rodriguez Family Coffee Estate has a total of 12 estates, 4 of which are in Santa Cruz（Santa Cruz）, 8 in La Paz（La Paz）In Karanawi, the manor realizes the integration of harvesting, processing, packaging and export.[El Sol de Manana Project] It was in 2016 that the Rodriguez family launched a plan to support small farmers in growing high-quality coffee. By providing coffee farmers with more vocational training and knowledge and skills, giving the latest coffee seed purchase discounts and other related consultations, as well as fairer transaction prices; at the same time, setting up a reward mechanism for those coffee farmers who cultivate seriously and reach a certain cupping score, thereby improving the quality of local coffee, and allowing the income and quality of coffee farmers to enter a good cycle of sustainable management.Front Street has previously cupped a batch of Tomorrow Sun Project’s washed Javanese Typica coffee beans. It has a rich flavor, soft strawberry sourness, caramel sweetness, and a slight cocoa and almond aftertaste.The traditional coffee varieties grown in Bolivia mainly include Tibica, Caduai, Red and Yellow Cadura, etc. With the promotion of the specialty coffee wave, in the past two decades, many coffee estates have introduced varieties such as Bolivian Gesha, Pacamara, SL28, etc., while the Rodrigues family’s Bolivian Gesha coffee beans come from the world’s most famous Jade Manor.Java（Java Nica）It comes from Ethiopia called Abyssinia（Abysinia）The branch is a native ancient variety. This branch is actually the same branch as Geisha, has the same birthplace, and also has excellent floral and fruity flavor. Because of this, Java is often called the cousin of Gesha.However, I would like to remind you that the Java mentioned here is different from the Java in Indonesia. The Java in Indonesia is actually synonymous with the coffee producing area, while the Java in Bolivia is the coffee variety; and the Java in Indonesia has lost its innate excellent genes over hundreds of years, and the two are different branches.Front Street will first give you a brief review of how Java came to the Americas. After Indonesia, the Javanese variety first spread to nearby Timor（Timor）Island group, and then to Cameroon in East Africa（Cameroon）, first released for farmers to grow in Cameroon in 1980.In 1991, in order to provide small coffee growers with a wider choice of varieties while also taking into account the conditions of low fertilizer demand, CIRAD at that time(International Agricultural Research and Development Center)Javanese was introduced to Costa Rica and then brought to various countries in Central and South America, and it was discovered that the flavor of Javanese performs best at high altitudes.With the planting of Javanese varieties in Central America, the Mierisch family of Nicaragua took the lead in bringing this variety to the specialty coffee market; and in order to distinguish Indonesian Javanese coffee from Javanese varieties, they named the Javanese varieties in Central America JAVA NICA(meaning Javan species from Nicaragua). Javanese coffee has emerged in Central and South America in recent years. It came to Bolivia and was carefully cultivated by the Rodriguez family.This year, I tasted a Bolivian cocoa sun-dried Javanese coffee bean produced by the Rodriguez family. From a small hacienda called Waliki, located in La Paz, Bolivia（La Paz）karanawi（Caranavi）Polinda in a dense steep valley about 10 kilometers outside town（Bolinda）The community has an altitude of more than 1,600 meters. The climate in this area is cold and the coffee planting cycle is relatively long. In the following content, Front Street will introduce this bean in detail.From the 1990s to the 21st century, thanks to foreign-funded development projects that established coffee washing processing plants, the vast majority of Bolivia's small farmers used traditional washing methods. In addition to classic treatments such as sun drying, washing, and honey treatment, a few large estates are also trying special treatments such as anaerobic fermentation and yeast. These few large estates include the Rodriguez family.As mentioned before, Front Street Cup got a Bolivian coffee bean that uses cocoa sun-drying treatment. The cocoa sun-drying process was developed by the Rodriguez family. After being sorted and weighed, the coffee cherries are carefully washed and placed to dry on raised African beds, then turned over every hour. After about a week, place the coffee cherries in a cocoa dryer.A cocoa dryer had never been seen used for coffee beans before, however, Pedro of the Rodriguez family had been innovating and trying different processing techniques and discovered that a cocoa dryer could slowly and continuously dry coffee beans at low temperatures, reducing the impact of weather conditions.The coffee beans are left in large steel vats for approximately 35 hours at a temperature not exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, turning over every 30 minutes.After the coffee beans are dried, they are transported to La Paz to rest and then shelled in a drying factory. The coffee is carefully shelled and sorted using machinery in this factory, in addition to manual sorting under UV and natural light. Front Street Coffee: Hacienda Valiki, Bolivia Coco Sunshine JavaBolivia Waliki Coco Natural JavaCoffee producing area: La PazPlanting altitude: 1600 metersCoffee variety: Java JavaProcessing method: Coco natural treatmentIn order to bring out the unique aroma and juice tone of Javanese, Front Street uses a light roasting technique.Front Street Coffee Bolivian Javanese Coffee Bean Roast ProfileDry aroma: fermentation aroma, grapeWet fragrance: honey, floral fragranceTaste: Grapes, citrus, honey, nuts, creamHow to brew on Front StreetFront Street considers that this Java bean is lightly roasted, and the coffee substance dissolution rate of lightly roasted beans is lower than that of dark roasted beans. Therefore, in order to ensure that sufficient flavor can be fully extracted, a higher water temperature is used for brewing, and a finer grinding degree is also selected.Amount of powder used: 15gPink to water ratio: 1:15Brewing water temperature: 92°CGrinding degree: 10 scale of Ek43, 75% screening rate of No. 20 mesh, 24~26 grid of C40(Because the non-woven filter paper enters the water faster, the grinding needs to be finer by 1 level)Brewing method: three-stageWater injection in the first stage: 30 grams of water and steam for 30 seconds.The second stage of water injection: inject 120 grams of water(The electronic scale shows 150 grams), the injection is completed in about 1 minute and 05 seconds.The third stage of water injection: inject 75 grams of water(The electronic scale shows 225 grams), the injection is completed in about 1 minute and 45 seconds.Extraction time: 2 minutes, remove the filter cup to complete brewing.Slightly fermented, grape, slightly nutty, floral, medium acidity, juice taste.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
