Bolivia Carmelo Yujura Washed

GrainPro packaging 60 kg

Coffee has been cultivated in Bolivia since the 1880s. The area was known for coca production and coffee was not considered as profitable as it is more difficult to grow. In the 1930s, coffee production began to be taken more seriously as export duties on coca leaves and a decline in local consumption made farmers aware of the risks of economic dependence on a single crop. In 1953, a government-led agrarian reform took place in which small plots of land (owned by old wheat landowners) were redistributed back to thousands of mostly indigenous families. A migration of young people from urban areas to Los Yungas followed, although few had knowledge of agriculture.

The government further distributed reading materials with very basic information on how to farm, and these remained the main source of education for Bolivian farmers for decades. In the 80s and 90s in the 20th century, due to a lack of resources and information, yields and quality declined significantly as the soil degraded over time. It wasn't until the early 20th century that farmers were given the incentives and resources to focus on producing high-quality coffee. It was started by US-funded programs (as part of their anti-drug campaign) that included building coffee washing stations and giving farmers access to training facilities and financial assistance. The arrival of the Cup of Excellence program in 2004 also greatly helped to promote the development of the industry and raise the profile of Bolivian coffee.

Coffee production in Bolivia has always been relatively low. The highest production was recorded in 1990 when the country exported 125,000 bags. By the time we started sourcing coffee in Bolivia in 2010, annual exports had dropped to 74,000 bags (which is equivalent to the annual production of one large farm in Brazil, to give you an idea). Over the past few years, this production has continued to decline to a disastrously low 22,000 bags per year in 2020. Several factors contribute to this decline. The most significant of these is that coffee competes with local coca (grown for the drug trade), which is harvested year-round, easier to harvest, and often more profitable for farmers. In the long term, coca plantations have a devastating impact on communities and land; pristine rainforest is often illegally destroyed for coca cultivation, and the lack of shade trees leads to huge erosion problems. The excessive use of biocides by coca farmers - in an attempt to support their crops - also causes the soil to become infertile over time. The land is then abandoned because nothing else can be grown on it.

The viability of the coffee trade in Bolivia is also threatened by the lack of a strong centralized body to significantly support and promote coffee production. Unlike other coffee-producing countries such as Guatemala and Brazil, coffee producers in Bolivia receive almost no support from the government or national agricultural authorities. In the past, the US gave Bolivian coffee a lot of support (in an effort to encourage the cultivation of alternative crops to coca), but when President Evo Morales (himself a former coca farmer) came to power in 2006, he soon stopped all US aid to his country.

These factors, along with poor infrastructure, changing climate conditions, the occurrence of roya (leaf rust) and traditional, less sophisticated farming practices, have led to a significant decline in production over the past decade.

This hand-picked and sorted lot comes from farmer Carmelo Yujuira from the Loa area at an altitude of 1700m.nm The lot is processed by the washed method and thanks to the Java variety, the cup is pure sweet with notes of bergamot, caramelized fig, flowers and citrus.

Flavor profile: Bergamot, caramelized figs, flowers and citrus.

Country of origin : Bolivia

Region : Regione di Loa

Farm : Carmelo Yujuira

Farmer : Carmelo Yujuira

Altitude: 1700 meters above sea level

Variety : Java

Processing : Washed

Cupping Score : 88

Crop: 2022/2023