The Cherry Bomb Series is an ode to crisp and clean single-variety lots. Our hope is that each volume in the series will showcase an articulate, complex, and delicious expression of our favourite coffee varieties. These cherries are the bomb, and we think you’ll agree ;)

Tasting Notes:
Raspberry Jam
Pomegranate
Chocolate Sundae
Region: Santa Cruz
Municipality: Samaipata
Farmer: Rodriguez Family
Variety: 100% Batian
Process: Natural
Elevation: 1700m

Description:
Another delicious lot from my trip to Bolivia last October. We’ve been buying coffee from Agricafé since 2020, and each year we are blown away by the quality. Owned and operated by Pedro Rodriguez and his two kids, Daniela and Pedro Pablo, Agricafé exports coffee both from the family’s farms and from neighbouring farms via their Sol de la Mañana program (check one of those out here). This lot is from the Rodriguez farms in the southern department of Santa Cruz, near the town of Samaipata. Almost reaching Bolivia’s wine country, this is about as far south as you can reasonably grow coffee. The climate is dry, soils are rocky, and the day/night swings in temperature are dramatic. This all places additional stress on the cherries when compared with the humid, lush rainforests in the Caranavi region to the north. This stress promotes dense bean development, contributing to a complex and layered cup quality.

Finca Floripondio is one of the newest farms the Rodriguez family has planted, focusing primarily on experimenting with rarer varieties. A test garden studies over 50 varieties and how they respond to the environment and soils before they commit to planting an entire plot. The farm itself is planted with Bourbon, Java, Gesha, SL28, SL34, Ethiosar, Pacamara, and the Batian in this release. Batian is a composite variety (drawing from varied parentage) developed in Kenya that has taken off in popularity in Latin America. This lot was given the classic natural process treatment (dried on raised beds for 10-14 days and then dry milled). The cup profile is dynamic and jammy. We’re reminded of jammy berries like raspberry or blackberry, juicy red fruit like pomegranate, and the creaminess of chocolate sundae.