Bolivia Illimani #6 Washed

The Story Behind the Coffee

From our importer Red Fox:

Illimani is a community of approximately 65 families in the province of Caranavi, the largest coffee producing region in Bolivia. 

Over the past 15 years, coffee has become a big part of Caranavi's identity and culture. The main structure in the town square reads “Province of Caranavi: Bolivian Coffee Capital,” and there are coffee shops everywhere. There are also frequent coffee events and competitions. People are proud of being coffee farmers and they are very competitive about who has the best coffee. A new, younger generation is getting involved, and the outlook for Bolivian coffee production is promising. Some older producers have handed their farms over to the next generation, and many producers are in their 30’s and early 40s.

During coffee harvest season, Caranavi is bustling around the clock. In Illimani, as in most of Caranavi, coffee producers sell their coffee in cherry. Toyota Ipsums, heavily modified and reinforced to carry a heavy load, are the vehicle of choice for transporting coffee cherry from the mountains to the collection stations in Illimani or Caranavi. Producers can hire an Ipsum taxi, and larger producers may have a pick-up truck or will hire a larger truck. 

The collection stations in Illimani are open daily beginning at 5pm, and they close once the line dies down and all of the coffee has been collected, often around midnight. From there, the coffee is transported to the centralized washing station for processing, where they will begin depulping and washing the coffee in the early morning, around 2 or 3 am.