Arcangel, Bolivia

Description

This is a anaerobic process coffee which has rich, vibrant, and complex flavours. It’s one of my favourite processing styles and is ideal for those who love the fruitier, wilder flavours in their cup.

El Arcángel is named after a large an majestic tree at the highest point of the farm which appears to be watching over and protecting the land, a lace of great beauty and  tranquility. It is located in Caranavi in the lush forests of the Yungas region. All coffee grown in this region has to travel along the notorious Death Road which follows the Andes Mountains from the dry Altiplano to the Amazon jungle to be processed in La Paz.

Many farmers moved to Caranavi in the 1950’s after the Government gave parcels of 10 hectares of tropical land to farm. However, most producers only plant 2 to 4 hectares with coffee, the rest remaining as wild forest.

It’s become difficult to find speciality coffee in Bolivia in recent years. Coffee rust wiped out many of the plants and the government’s decision to allow coca farming meant many stopped growing coffee which is less profitable and has a smaller harvest than coca. A lack of knowledge and skills meant that many of the remaining coffee farmers were only getting small yields.

This coffee was grown by Agricafe, owned by the Rodriguez family who began their coffee business in 1986. They initially only processed coffee, but with production falling dramatically they decided to buy land to grow their own coffee on. The Rodriguez family are investing heavily in agronomy research, experimenting with grafting and using different varieties. They found the best results were given by grafting Java and Geisha varities on Robusta root stocks. They are also experimenting with using yeast and extended fermentation techniques to enhance complex flavours in the cup. In 2019 they won the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) Sustainability award for ‘Best Sustainable Business Model’.