We first stocked this coffee in 2008 from the Cup of Excellence, and it very quickly became our favourite coffee of that year. It also proved to be one of your overall favourites regardless of its Cup of Excellence price premium.
We met Mario who owns the farm with his wife Maria in Corico on the Friday of the 2007 competition when we went to an awards ceremony for the coffees that had made it to the international jury finals. We didn't know who had won or which coffees we had cupped, just that these guys were behind them. It was a great chance to meet the farmers, as I had an early flight booked and would not be at the presentation day on the Saturday.
The meeting place was in something that you can only compare to a greenhouse. The heat was the worst ever experienced. A week of travelling around the local area, crammed with far more work than is good for anyone and some serious heat took its toll, fresh air was desperately needed! Whilst there, we got chatting to one of the farmers who then disappeared to kindly get a bottle of water, which felt like one of the best things ever on the planet at the time. We chatted some more, swapped business cards and that was that. When he got his certificate, we asked if he minded having a photo taken, and wished him the best for following day.
Once back home and looking through cupping scores, the decision was made which coffee we were going to go for as number one lot of choice in the auction. This coffee was it. We also decided it didn't matter how much this coffee cost, we were going to secure it. It was only after looking through business cards collected on the trip that we realised it was Mario who we'd met and got on with so well. After that, a number of emails were exchanged with Mario and we got on well. They were also really pleased that we were the ones to secure the lot. It means more when you get to know the individuals involved with coffee, and it seems to work both ways too.
So taking advantage of this special relationship, with the help of our importers who work with exporters and are fluent Spanish speakers, I started to speak with Mario to see if we could secure the coffee for this year. This is our first world exclusive coffee where we have bought all of the coffee from the farm. It is only available at Has Bean. We have also tied in some incentives to maintain and improve quality, and paid a great price that is way above the fair trade price, directly into Mario's hands.
- Country Bolivia
- Farm: Machacamarca BV
- Farmer: Maria and Mario Nina Lupe del Rosario Andrade
- City: Chulumani
- Region: Sud-Yungas
- Farm Size: 67.00 Hectares
- Coffee growing area: 5.00 Hectares
- Altitude: 1,790 m.a.s.l.
- Varieties: Criollo (80%), Caturra (20%)
- Type of Soil: Clay
- Average Annual Rainfall: 1,790 mm
- Type of Shade: Hardwoods, citrus
- Weeding: Twice per year
- Pruning: Sanitary pruning
- Processing System: On-site wet processing, solar drying
