TASTING NOTE This complex, elegant but juicy cup starts with cherry cordial before a burst of white grape and then a squeeze of tangerine. FARM INFO Named after the annual festival celebrating wishes and abundance, Bolivia Las Alasitas is a coffee built on vision and possibility. "Las Alasitas" translates to "buy me" in Aymara, and during the festival – which kicks off each year on 24th January in La Paz – locals purchase miniature figurines representing their hopes for the coming year. Everything from tiny cars to miniature coffee sacks are blessed by yatiris (traditional healers) and Catholic priests alike, then given to friends and family in the belief that recipients will receive the real thing before the year is out. At the heart of it all sits Ekeko, the Aymara god of abundance – a chubby, moustachioed figure laden with baskets and bags, who watches over Bolivian households and rewards generosity. It's a fitting name for a farm where the Rodríguez family continue to plant seeds – both literally and figuratively – for the future of Bolivian coffee. This full-bodied washed coffee delivers a beautifully rich texture that carries flavours of marzipan and brown sugar, with a gentle hint of milk chocolate that deepens into dark chocolate on the aftertaste. The Yellow Caturra variety – a compact, golden-fruited mutation of Bourbon first selected in Brazil – tends toward tropical fruit sweetness at altitude. Here, though, the family's anaerobic washed processing tempers that brightness into something rounder and more confectionery. Grown at 1,642 metres above sea level in Bolinda – a steep, green valley whose name is a contraction of "Bolivia Linda" (Beautiful Bolivia) – Las Alasitas benefits from cool nights and mild days that slow the ripening of cherries. This extended maturation allows sugars to concentrate and complexity to build, resulting in a cup that rewards those who appreciate the finer details of speciality coffee. After selective hand-picking, cherries are delivered to Agricafe's Buena Vista mill in Caranavi, where they undergo flotation sorting before depulping. From there, wet parchment is placed in sealed stainless steel fermentation tanks – the same kind you'd find in a winery – where onsite oenologist Iván Hugas has prepared what the family call mosto: a carefully calibrated solution of harvested yeasts and bacteria that catalyses a controlled anaerobic fermentation. The tanks are closely monitored throughout, with the coffee removed after around 48 hours once the desired fermentation is complete. The parchment is then pressure-washed clean and dried – either on raised beds or in the family's signature "coco" dryers (gentle-heat box dryers Pedro discovered during his time in peanut production), depending on humidity. Finally, it rests at La Luna, the family's state-of-the-art dry mill in La Paz, before export. First planted in 2014, Las Alasitas was Agricafe's first step into farming – part of an ambitious project to revive Bolivia's declining coffee industry. Pedro Rodríguez swapped his accountant's suit for agriculture three decades ago, and the family had been sourcing coffee from small producers in Caranavi and Samaipata ever since. But watching production decline put the sustainability of their business at risk. In response, they bought land to showcase modern practices and establish model farms that other producers could learn from. Las Alasitas is now home to Agricafe's variety nursery, where agronomists cultivate seedlings of prized varietals like Geisha, Java, and San Bernardo to share with local farmers. At the top of the farm sits La Casita – a small house where the family welcome guests to enjoy the sweeping views over the valley at sunrise and sunset, coffee in hand. Through their Sol de la Mañana programme, the Rodríguez family empowers local farmers with training and skills to improve quality and yields – helping ensure the future of Bolivian coffee doesn't rest on their shoulders alone. We're proud to support their work. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Province: Caranavi Colony: Bolinda Farm: Las Alasitas Producers: Fincas Los Rodriguez Processing Method: Washed Varietal: Yellow Caturra
Beans, Espresso, Stovetop, Filter, Pour Over, Aeropress, Chemex, French Press