Bolivia Finca La Llama - Gesha, Coco-Natural

Tastes Like: Mango, Raspberry Fairy Floss, Jasmine Florals

Roasted on: 29th October 2024
Packaging: Nitro Flushed 105 gram aluminium cans
Shelf Life: A pretty long time... until you open the can.

Producer: Pedro Rodriguez
Importer: Melbourne Coffee Merchants
Farm: Finca La Llama
Department: La Paz
Province: Caranavi
Colonia: Villa Rosario
Harvested: June - October
Variety: Panama Gesha
Altitude: 1700 MASL
Process: Coco Natural

This Gesha nanolot comes comes from Finca La Llama, one of the latest additions to the Fincas Los Rodríguez farms. The farm is located in the colonia of Villa Rosario, which lies in a lush, steep mountain valley just outside of the town of Caranavi. The farm is owned by Pedro Rodriguez and his family, who also operate the exporting business Agricafe Bolivia.

La Llama is the highest of all of the Los Rodríguez farms in Caranavi, sitting at over 1,700m above sea level. At this high elevation, temperatures are mild during the day and stable at night. This helps ensure a slow maturation of the cherry, which leads to an increased concentration of sugars in the cherry and bean, in turn producing a sweeter cup of coffee. Early in the morning or late afternoon, it is common to find an atmospheric fog covering the coffee plants, caused by the region’s unique microclimate. La Llama is 9.58 hectares in size, 5.24 of which are under coffee. While it had been producing coffee for over fifteen years when the family first acquired it, it has only been in harvest under their practices since 2017. Today, the farm’s production is still small, yet the Geshas produced here are of exceptional quality.

Reaching the highest point of the farm is an experience in itself. The trail to the top, which Pedro has affectionately dubbed “The Path of the Puma” (though no pumas are found on the farm!), begins at the rear of Las Alasitas farm, as shown in the video below – and as you travel along the winding, steep roads in a four-wheel-drive you’ll pass very neat and perfectly spaced rows of coffee. In the last couple of years, trees at La Llama have been spaced out further, to give the roots more room to expand, and to ensure branches can receive sunlight more directly. While this has reduced productivity of the plantation, it has reduced its need for irrigation, as water shortages are a major concern in the region.

Pedro and his family have invested a lot of time and effort into trying to make each of their plantations a ‘model’ farm that other producers in the area can learn from. Along with a focus on proper farming practices, the family have trialled several varieties at their farms in Caranavi. This particular lot is 100% Gesha – a variety renowned for its exceptional cup quality and distinct flavour profile. Gesha seeds were originally collected from Ethiopian coffee forests in the 1930s. They were initially kept and studied at the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute, and subsequently at Costa Rica’s Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (known as CATIE). Both institutes recognised the variety’s resistance to coffee leaf rust, yet it was not propagated thoroughly due to the tree’s brittle branches. Luckily, in the 1960s, the variety was distributed to farmers in Panama by Francisco “Pachi” Serracin. Gesha trees made their way to the country’s Boquete region, where they grew at high elevations without attracting much attention from local farmers. It wasn’t until the Peterson family, in Boquete’s Hacienda La Esmeralda, noticed a number of trees that had not been affected by a recent bout of leaf rust on a newly-acquired plot of land, and decided to separate and cultivate them. The rest is history: the lot produced by these trees went on to win the Best of Panama competition in 2004, as its delicate, floral aroma and distinct flavour profile pushed the boundaries of what coffee could taste like.

In recent years, the Rodríguez have renewed their sustainability efforts across their farms. Because they understand that plants are supported by nutrients found in the soil, their practices have shifted to ensure these are constantly being replenished. This includes incorporating fallen leaves and coffee pulp on the bases of each tree, and planting shade trees (including eucalyptus trees and Flamboyanas, a species known locally as “fire flowers” because of their beautiful foliage) in areas with high risk of erosion. Not only have these practices improved Caranavi’s reddish, sandy clay soils, they have also helped boost its biodiversity.

All of the Rodríguez family’s learnings have also been shared with local producers through a training program that the family has developed called ‘Sol de la Mañana.’  

For more information about this coffee from the importers, Melbourne Coffee Merchants, click here