We first met Daniella and her father Pedro back in 2016 at Let’s Talk Coffee in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, an event that establishes direct connections between producers and roasters. Every year since we have sampled their harvests, always impressed by the exceptionally clean and beautiful coffees produced at Los Rodriguez. We met with them again at last year’s Specialty Coffee Association expo in Boston where we were given a virtual tour of their state of the art coffee facilities and purchased our favorite lots before they all sold out.
Bolivia’s coffee industry has seen its share of ups and downs. Coffee farming in Bolivia can be traced as far back as the year 1880, and while coffee production has never been a major source of revenue for the country, the last 10 years have seen coffee production fall by almost 70%. The government of Bolivia attempted to remedy this sharp decline by supplying farmers with coffee saplings, however failed to offer additional support in the form of education and training for would-be coffee farmers.
In 1986 Pedro Rodriguez began his coffee journey founding Agricafe with the goal of producing high quality Bolivian coffees. Agricafe has since grown to include 12 farms and 3 mills in the areas of La Paz and Santa Cruz. Noticing the potential of the Bolivian coffee industry and the need of support by the local farming community Agricafe also formed its Sol De La Mañana program. Sol De La Mañana is an intensive 7 year program that supports local coffee farmers by teaching them every step of coffee farming. Starting with saplings in the nursery farmers are guided through the stages of planting, harvesting, pest prevention, pruning as well as financial management and future planning.
Region/Country: Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Farm: Agricafe, Los Rodriguez
Processing Method: Natural Process
Varietal: Caturra
Altitude: 1,500-1,850m
In the cup: Black cherry, cassis, and blackberry.
Award Winning Specialty Coffee
