We went to Bolivia!
We’re so stoked to share about our newest coffee relationship with newfound friends in Caranavi, Bolivia! Over the years, we’ve been so honored to partner with the incredible folks at Counter Culture Coffee, who have also become dear friends. Amongst so much more, we share a commitment to a counter-cultural model of long-term, relational coffee sourcing (see what we did there?). Which brings us to Bolivia!
Counter Culture has been working with a coffee cooperative there called CENAPROC (or Central Asociados de Productores de Café) for 23 years now. 23 years, y’all! That’s almost unheard of in the industry. We so admire their commitment to one another and are honored to enter into the fold of such a long-lasting relationship. Aside from helping with logistics, we at COI will get to bring on coffee from a neighboring producer community CENAPROC is partnering with, so we’re very excited to announce a Bolivian SPOT coffee offering come December!
Fun facts about Bolivia:
El Alto International Airport (a clue in and of itself) is at a whopping 13,325 feet above sea level. It’s like hiking a 14er just catching a flight! The airport itself has oxygen pumped into it. How wild is that?
If you haven’t had a Bolivian coffee before, you’re in the majority, as it’s a notoriously hard place to get coffee from. Aside from logistical barriers, the country only exports about 120 containers of coffee a year - not as much as you would think in comparison to a country like Guatemala, which exports over 10,000 containers a year!
Bolivia, once again in comparison to other coffee-producing countries, is relatively new to the coffee scene! Coffee really only took off in the 80s and 90s in combination with incentivized programs from international entities (like the U.S.) to help farmers transition their crops away from coca. We’ve found that many producers in Bolivia are entering the specialty coffee world with an eagerness to build more equitably aligned supply chains and also a desire to see Bolivian coffees more recognizable on the global coffee stage.
Our founders, Abdiel and Ryan, had the privilege of visiting CENAPROC with folks from Counter Culture earlier this month. Perhaps most of all, they were struck by the hospitality and kindness of everyone present! Over shared meals and lots of laughs, they learned more about the cooperative’s storied history and got to check out their awesome operation, now complete with a brand-new dry mill, which took an incredible amount of community investment. With over 40 members and now 34 years running, their story and long-standing relationships are a testament to each of the members who carry the mission forward. And as a tease, out of the 11 cups on the table, 8 of them were amazing! Stay tuned for these coffees to land; we’d love to get you some samples!
Written by Kristopher Swanson, administrative assistant & sales rep, COI