These beans come from a small lot from a farm run by Carmelo Yujra, in the lush Caranavi region of Bolivia. Carmelo’s been farming coffee for several years with the help of nearby farmer Rene Viadez.
It’s also one of only four 60kg bags to be produced in the last harvest. With this lot they experimented with an unusual method of processing the coffee for Bolivian farms.
After the coffee is pulped, it’s fermented for 17 hours in water in order to remove the sticky mucilage (the remaining fruit pulp) from the outside of the bean.
It’s then washed and soaked in water for another 24 hours, something that’s common in Kenya but not Bolivia. The coffee is then dried in the sun on raised beds for around 20 days, during which it is frequently turned so it can dry evenly.
