86+ Find: Carolina Villalobos (Bolivia) Microlot. NEW ARRIVAL!

Origin	Bolivia
Region	Caranavi
Farm / Coop	Colonia Siete Estrellas
Altitude	1,300 to 1,500 meters above sea level
Varietals	Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Icatu
Processing	Fully washed
Certifications	Grown using organic practices, but not certified
Cup Notes	Cupping Score 86.  FLAVOR/AROMA: Vanilla. Apricot, Brown sugar.Mango ACIDITY: Citric (Meyer lemon, orange). OTHER: Round body, consistent across cups. Velvety aftertaste. Recommended for a drip or espresso blend, or by itself as comfort coffee.

Carolina Villalobos and Rolando Cucho are a wife-and-husband coffee producing team in Colonia Siete Estrellas. Though we have a partnership agreement and purchased from Siete Estrellas producers for over eleven years, 2018 is the second year that we are offering a micro-lot from Carolina and her husband. In 2017 we sold out early, so plan accordingly!

Carolina has been growing coffee since she was a little girl (32 years ago!). They bought their current farm in 2010. She learned to become a coffee grower from her parents. She started working with them, but production was low, so Rolando & Carolina decided to buy their own lot and become independent!

They are most proud of their coffee quality and their efforts to improve quality every year. We have been watching the improvement and we are very happy with them and for them. We ask them what would be their prized tradition and they said "the soccer (futbol) matches that we have every year among the different coffee growers". It is a tradition that was started by their grandparents.

They like to drink their own coffee in the "ollita de barro" (clay pot). Their biggest improvement in the coffee production process is: "to pick only ripe (red) cherries and dry the coffee in raised beds, instead that on the "cachis" (floor mats). Thanks to Invalsa's technical assistance, they have bought a a de-pulping machine (before it was all done by hand) and they have learned how to prune and fertilize their trees. 

Explore the region of Caranavi in Bolivia yourself, here:

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