Bolivia

Juan Carlos Huanca

Gesha

Washed process Gesha

Flavour: white blossom, cane sugar, white peach

Very Special

It’s easy to take for granted coffees like these: “It’s just another washed Gesha!”. But let’s take a step back and remember why these lots are something to celebrate—essentially, what the Very Special arm of our online subscription is about.

First, the variety. Growing Gesha is not always straightforward, and producers like Juan take a great risk when investing land and time in harvesting ‘exotic’ varietals for the global specialty market.

Second, the execution. The variety has amazing flavour characteristics, but the fermentation process is a producer’s ‘make it or break it’ moment (much like the roasting for us). In this case, the washed process was followed with precision, respecting and elevating the Gesha’s celebrated properties.

Third, the context. Juan is growing specialty coffee in a land where coca has historically predominated. Despite numerous pushbacks, he’s stuck to coffee, which may be a bit more risky but has a healing power for the local community and lands (he briefly explains why in his own words, just below).

‘Just’ another humble and delicious VS delivery.

Finca La Asunta - Bolivia from Cafe Imports on Vimeo.

Words from Juan himself

“The municipality of La Asunta is located in the central part of the province of Sud Yungas, in the center-east of the department of La Paz. La Asunta presents a very rugged topography, with irregular reliefs of hills with very pronounced slopes. The municipality’s water resources are fed by innumerable waterfalls up to 400 meters high, with large flows, the main rivers being the Boopí and Cotacajes.

The region has a warm climate with an average temperature of 28°C, registering a low in winter of 19 °C and a humidity of 70%, with rainfall in normal years of 1,300 mm.2. La Asunta is located 217 kilometers by road to the northeast of the city of La Paz, capital of the department. Crop production is at the center of a coffee plantation development program to replace surplus coca crops. Coffee, which meets high quality standards, represents a viable agricultural alternative for local communities.

I was born in the Camacho province and I arrived in the Yungas in 1992 with my father who was a coffee grower. In 2004 I was able to buy my own land and planted Creole variety but the disease ruined everything. After that I had to start over and I planted catuaí and Gesha and took care of them a lot, since then I have been in specialty coffees and I can take care of my three children with this.

Most of the coffee in Bolivia comes from Caranavi in ​​the Nor Yungas region. We are in La Asunta, Sud Yungas, which is of a different origin within the same country. This region is characterized by producing the Coca leaf, although in recent years this production overflowed, almost irreversibly affecting the fertility of the region. By planting coffee as an alternative product, we reduce coca production and recover biodiversity since coffee needs shade. In addition, unlike coca, we seek to have natural fertilizers so that our soils are fertile for many more years.

To all those who are drinking this coffee, I hope you enjoy it a lot. After a fall, the most important thing is to get up and continue with more strength, learning from the mistakes that are made. I lost almost all of the first plantation I had because it got sick and I didn’t know how to control the pests. I felt devastated since I had spent a lot of money and also had my small children.

Despite the difficulties we went through and thanks to the support, not only physical but also moral, that my wife gave me, we managed as a family and tried again to plant coffee. Now, we are taking the risk of producing exotic varieties, and we are doing much better than we were before. It is never too late for a new beginning.”

Juan’s farm

Juan Carlos Huanca owns Finca La Asunta in La Asunta Munacipality, North-West of Bolivia. This 7-hectare farm has 3 hectares planted with coffee and he grows citrus fruits on the other parts of the farm.

Juan planted Gesha in the hopes of producing new and exciting profiles in the region. They produce only 2250kgs of coffee annually from the farm.

This lot’s process

Processing in Bolivia is very similar in practice to Colombia’s specialty producers, as many Bolivian smallholders invest in processing infrastructure. In washing, the coffee is sorted, depulped, fermented, and dried for about two weeks at the farm level.

Juan does a dry fermentation for 22 hours then dries on raised beds for 7 days.

Coffee trees in Bolivia

Learn everything about this coffee:

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Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
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Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

• Dose: 20g ground coffee
• Yield: 60g espresso
• Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

• Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
• Labels: recyclable
• Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
• Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

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Our packaging

Producer

Juan Carlos Huanca

Farm/Coop

Finca La Asunta

Country

Bolivia

Region

La Asunta

Altitude

1550m above sea level

Variety

Gesha

Process

washed

Harvested

October 2023

Importer

Cafe Imports

Body

Acidity

Tasting notes

White blossom, cane sugar, white peach

Roast style

Omni (filter + espresso)