Colonia San Juan 8 Estrellas Organic

This coffee is packed in jute sacks lined with PVC Grainpro bags – an airtight storage system that preserves aroma and freshness for longer, while also allowing the coffee to breathe naturally.

This coffee was produced by the eight small farmers who make up the ‘Colonia 8 Estrellas’ - a small community in Bolivia’s Caranavi Province, around 205km from La Paz. The community was founded by Juan Ticona, who started growing coffee in this steep, fertile area in the early 1970s. His achievements encouraged seven other families to settle in the area - which they named San Juan 8 Estrellas (‘estrellas’ means ‘stars’).

Juan Ticona and his neighbours - the other seven ‘stars’ - all farm using fully organic methods, benefiting from Juan’s lengthy experience of producing coffee without the use of any chemicals or pesticides. These eight small farms have, on average, some five hectares under coffee. This is grown in a clay soil under the protective shade of banana trees and native forest trees - whose heavy leaf fall creates a natural mulch fertilizer for the soil. This lot is made up of three different varietals - Typica (around 75%), Caturra and Catuai (both of the latter varietals are derived from Bourbon).

The harvest in Colonia San Juan 8 Estrellas usually runs from May to September, peaking in June and July. The cherries are handpicked when fully ripe and then delivered in baskets by car to the wet milling facility at Buena Vista mill in Caranavi, where they are milled before being moved in parchment to the dry milling facility in La Paz for rest and eventual preparation for export.

Cupping Date: 

16 December 2011

Cup: 

Clean Transparent

Sweetness: 

Sugary

Acidity: 

Elegant

Mouthfeel: 

Juicy

Flavour: 

Plum

Overall: 

Juicy and elegant, with a transparent cup and sugary sweetness. Very plummy.