Bolivia Tomorrow’s Sun Project #101 LotCoffee Bean Intro:

Tomorrow’s Sun Project

The Rodriguez family ( Rodriguez ) is a key driving force behind Bolivia’s specialty coffee scene, continuously elevating the country’s specialty coffee offerings. The Rodriguez family has been engaged in coffee cultivation for 30 many years. In recent years, Bolivia’s coffee industry has suffered a severe decline with production sharply dropping (due in part to government policies encouraging the cultivation of more profitable crops like cacao, and also the spread of coffee leaf rust in Central America). Despite this, the Rodriguez family resolutely decided to increase investment in farm infrastructure and coffee cultivation to improve coffee quality and ensure the sustainable future development of Bolivia’s coffee industry.

In recent years, due to low profitability in coffee farming and aging coffee plants, many smallholder farmers in Bolivia have begun uprooting their traditional coffee farms to switch to cacao, which offers four times the profit of coffee. To prevent the loss of these fine flavors, the Rodriguez family began helping farmers improve coffee quality and thereby boost profits—giving rise to the “Tomorrow’s Sun” project.

They provide comprehensive technical guidance in aspects such as variety selection, planting, and harvesting, and have established large-scale processing facilities to assist smallholders with processing, along with complementary services for subsequent sales and export. This has greatly enhanced the motivation and income levels of smallholder farmers, safeguarding Bolivia’s rapidly declining specialty coffee industry through concrete action.

Caturra

Caturra (Caturra) is a natural mutation of Bourbon (bourbon), discovered in 1937 in Brazil. It has a smaller tree stature compared to Bourbon.
Caturra is suitable for cultivation at altitudes of 700-1750 meters, with higher altitudes generally yielding better flavor profiles. Flavor-wise, it often exhibits bright fruity acidity and subtle sweetness.

When lightly roasted, Caturra shows pronounced acidic aroma, brightness overall, and—if processed well—can display excellent sweetness. However, its body is relatively lower compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the cup can be somewhat lacking.

Typically, Caturra produces red berries, but in very rare regions yellow Caturra can also be found, such as the very limited cultivation of yellow Caturra in Hawaii.

Washed process

The washed process involves placing coffee cherries in water for flotation to remove underripe or low-density cherries. The cherries are then depulped by machine to remove the outer skin and pulp, followed by fermentation in tanks to break down the mucilage layer. The fermented and washed beans are then moved to drying areas for sun drying. Once the moisture content drops to 11% to 13%, they can be stored in warehouses until hulling removes the parchment before export.

Washed-process coffee beans generally highlight brighter acidity and clarity. Although they require more water, the resulting beans are cleaner in profile with fewer defects compared to naturally processed beans.