Bolivia’s Tomorrow’s Sun ProjectCoffee Bean Intro:

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. It is a landlocked nation bordered by Brazil and Colombia. Although it has great potential as a coffee-exporting country, its production has always been quite limited. The conditions for growing coffee are excellent, but the challenges are extremely daunting—resulting in an exceptionally rich agricultural history built on very, very difficult land.

The origins of coffee in Bolivia can be traced back to 1880, when all production was essentially tied to owners of large farms north of La Paz. In 1991, the government promoted a plan to involve indigenous people in coffee cultivation, but quality was not prioritized. This was due to Bolivia’s underdeveloped economy and infrastructure—Bolivia remains the poorest country in South America. Additionally, Bolivia’s naturally diverse and advantageous terrain became a critical factor hindering coffee processing, transportation, and quality due to poor infrastructure. The government’s encouragement of coca leaf cultivation, which yields four times the profit of coffee, led many farmers to abandon coffee and even leave their farms entirely.

In the early 2000s, the United States provided strong support for Bolivia’s agriculture, but relations deteriorated after the Bolivian government later supported coca cultivation. Coffee farmers suffered the most. Later, as Bolivia resumed a limited war on drugs, many programs were restarted to assist coffee farmers—for example, the COE (Cup of Excellence) was held with support from USAID. In 2013, when leaf rust struck, Bolivia lost 50% of its entire coffee production in just that year. The government’s coca leaf policy and leaf rust together caused Bolivia’s coffee production to decline by 70% over the past decade, reducing it to a minor coffee-producing nation.

Yungas

Located in Caranavi Province, northeast of La Paz. 95% of Bolivia’s coffee is produced here, along the vast forests extending along the eastern slopes of the Andes. This is fertile land, with its rainy, humid, and warm climate making it a favorable region for coffee production and cultivation. The altitude here ranges from 800 to 1,800 meters. This area is most famous for having one of the world’s most dangerous roads, nicknamed the “Death Road,” also known as the “world’s most dangerous road.”

[Tomorrow’s Sun Project]This is a comprehensive plan to elevate Bolivia’s coffee industry, requiring significant investment and effort to support smallholder farmers. It includes technical support, breeding, pruning, harvesting, and other key techniques, as well as purchasing coffee from smallholders at high prices, enabling farmers’ incomes and quality to enter a virtuous cycle of sustainable development.

Several well-known roasters in Europe and the United States, such as Intelligentsia, Has Bean, Stumptown, Drop Coffee, 49th Parallel, Maruyama, and others, almost consistently purchase beans from Agri Cafe.

Agri Cafe, a Bolivian specialty coffee established by plantation owner Pedro Rodriguez and his children, Pedro Pablo and Daniela, in addition to their own estates, Pedro has a dream of reviving Bolivia’s specialty coffee and improving the lives of coffee farmers, which led to the launch of the El Sol de Manana (Tomorrow’s Sun) project.

This project invests significant effort in supporting member smallholder farmers, providing technical support in breeding, pruning, fertilization, harvesting, and other key techniques, and purchasing the cherries harvested by member smallholders at higher prices. The cherries are processed using Agricafe’s own processing facilities, enabling farmers’ incomes and quality to enter a virtuous cycle of sustainable development.

Java, Typica:

The Java variety is still grown on Java Island, but due to low yields and poor disease resistance, many farms have switched to new varieties. In appearance, traditional Java beans are quite similar to the Typica variety, generally seen as shorter and more slender (i.e., short berry-shaped), as well as long berry-shaped Java beans.

Typica is the most classic high-quality Arabica variety, with extremely low yields and susceptibility to rust disease, requiring more labor-intensive management. Typica coffee originated in southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan and is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere. The plants are relatively robust but not tolerant of strong light. The top leaves of Typica are reddish-copper in color, hence called red-top coffee.

The green beans have relatively low moisture content, medium texture, slightly elongated shape, smooth surface, light green color, and a grassy aroma.