After eight days, our last day in Bolivia.

When we arrived at Nayra Qata’s dry mill in La Paz, Mr. and Mrs. Juan and many coffee producers had gathered.

Mr. Juan from Nayra Qata and a new curator, Mr. Matteo, cupped about 60 kinds of coffees from small producers and gave feedback.

The producers from all over Bolivia were wondering how the roasters in Japan would evaluate their coffees…? I could see how they were feeling, and I could feel the tremendous tension in their hearts.

The boiling point is low at an altitude of about 4,000 meters, and the liquid cools easily, so we quickly finished the tasting.

With the sun shining and the oxygen thin, we found ourselves exhausted after about 5 hours of cup-taking and giving feedback to the producers… but we were able to find some great coffees.

Among the coffees that left a powerful impression on me were carbonic maceration from Finca Isabel (Fernando Caye and Gabriela), which I visited on the third day, and washed from Licoma WS (Raymundo Ayca ), which I had bought the year before last.

These two coffees were outstanding, even in the harsh environment of La Paz, where it is difficult to taste the flavor. Unfortunately, the production is limited, so I wonder if we will be able to purchase them…but we hope to introduce them at the store.

After organizing the details, we plan to purchase other lots that interest us.

Our coffee tasting was not only about the cupping this day but also about the passion of the producers as they listened intently to our opinions and tried to connect them to the future production of coffee.

Until now, while checking out the producer’s story, we had never lost our focus on quality. Each coffee producer works hard to make quality coffee in different environments and circumstances. We roasters evaluate and purchase them, and there is always a bias in terms of popularity.

This time, I met many producers and experienced their enthusiasm and efforts. As a result, it became clear that I wanted to buy coffee because of its value based on quality and because I liked the producer’s personality. It gave me such a sense of worth. These are the values that came into being.

If possible, I want to work together to make better coffee by nurturing our relationship every year. That is how I feel now.

This sentiment would have never been born if I had not come to Bolivia. It will be an opportunity for me to take a big step forward in my career in coffee.

I want to thank TYPICA for this precious opportunity, all the Bolivian producers who welcomed us in the busy harvest season, and all the curators and supporters.

We are still a small coffee shop, but we will surely grow and return the favor.

And to all the roasters, thank you so much for the opportunity to tour Bolivia with us and share so many coffee stories with us! I have laughed so much during these eight days that my facial muscles are sore.

I look forward to seeing you again next month in Japan as I head off to Peru!

See you soon 👋

Everything from growing the coffee to serving a cup is done in-house…! From seed to cup in the truest sense of the word…!

I ordered an espresso, and Deysi personally brewed it for me 😌.

It was my first espresso in Bolivia, and it was amazing! It was gorgeous and a pleasant cup with a refreshing citrusy acidity and sweetness 🍊.

It was a valuable experience for me. I don’t think you can do this very often in Japan☺!

Thank you so much to Mr. Carmelo, Deysi, and everyone at the farm and cafe for these past two days!

Muchas gracias！

After leaving Agricafe, we headed to a coffee farm in the Loa district at an altitude of 1,800 meters.

The Carmelo and Daysi families, who have been working as coffee producers for the longest time in Bolivia, and Andy of 4 Llamas, an up-and-coming coffee producer, live next door to each other, and each of them is particular about the coffee they make.

Having spent the last two days tasting the finest coffees in the world, I was anxious to see what kind I could expect to find in a quiet village far from the city.

Over the past three years, with the support of TYPICA, Mr. Carmelo’s farm has added airy drying beds and a drying room that can maintain a good drying environment. That has further improved the quality of the already good coffee.

The coffee I tasted was surprisingly sweet, with beautiful soft acidity. It was a delicious coffee with a gentle, enveloping feeling different from the sophisticated coffee served in the city😌

Mr. Carmelo was the first Bolivian coffee producer to use the Kenyan double-washed process, and he is the only one who continues to do so. That is the reason why he can produce unique flavors.

On the other hand, Andy’s mission is to “design” coffee flavors, making unique and distinctive coffees.

I found it interesting that Mr. Carmelo and his team’s coffees had an overall citrus flavor, while Andy’s coffees had apple and lactic acid flavors. It was hard to believe that the coffees were grown in the same area and were so diverse in flavor ☕️.

Perhaps there will come a time when competitors from all over the world will work with Andy to design the coffee beans they use in competitions 😉.

When we were cupping, Mr. Carmelo and Andy looked very anxious, as if they were very nervous, thinking, ‘How is my coffee going to be evaluated?

Their life and livelihood would completely change if their coffee was evaluated as delicious and that was reflected in the coffee price. At the same time, it was clear that the producers were earnestly listening to the feedback on how we felt. They were determined to make even more delicious coffee next year and onward. We were very impressed with the coffee that we found to be excellent.

We look forward to introducing the coffees we found to be excellent to everyone in Aomori 😉.

Thank you so much, Mr. Carmelo, Ms. Deysi, Andy, everyone at ４Llamas, and everyone in the Loa area! We will be back 👋

Finca Las Alasitas

I visited “Las Alasitas,” known as one of the world’s most beautiful and delicious coffee-producing farms.

It truly is like something out of a movie…the paradise of life.

Don Carlos, the longest-serving Agricafe employee, gave us a tour of the farm and let us try some of the Geisha coffee cherries he had harvested. They tasted like lychee and had a lingering hint of sweetness that stayed in my mouth for the rest of the day.

For lunch,  Rodrigo, who manages the farm, served us an excellent Argentine-style barbecue, and we enjoyed the big meat served with Bolivian wine while admiring the beautiful scenery*.

Alasitas Cup 2022

One of the staff members at the Agricafe was wearing a cool T-shirt, and someone muttered, ” I want one of those…”, triggering a coffee brewing competition to win a prize held at Alasitas Farm…!

(The winner later won a pound of Alasitas Estate’s Geisha green beans.)

Six coffee brewers entered the competition and competed in a tournament-style extraction.

It proved difficult but very enjoyable to brew the same coffee in a different environment, coffee mills, and brewing equipment from the usual.

I managed to make it to the finals, and my opponent was Mr. Sakashita, who won 3rd place in Japan at the 2017 Aeropress competition. Since I also finished 3rd the following year, I definitely can’t lose. So the fight is on 🔥.

I experienced an accident halfway through the competition when the scale changed from g to oz, which made me panic, but….

As a result… I came out as the winner 🏅 and became the first champion 🙌!

Our judges were the Rodríguez  family and Mai Suzuki, who organizes the Aeropress Championship in Bolivia, so I was nervous… but I’m glad I was able to show the prowess of the Tohoku region ✨.

The rare Geisha from Alasitas Farm is coming, and I can’t wait to drink it with everyone in Aomori 😉.

Time to say goodbye!

The dream-like time passed quickly as we said goodbye to the Rodríguez  family and everyone at Agricafe.

Although it was only for two short days, we had a truly wonderful time experiencing the efforts of Bolivia’s leading companies and cupping many coffees.

Currently, AgriCafe only handles one type of coffee, but we encountered many impressive coffees. So we plan to introduce a few more types of coffee to everyone next year 😌.

If we keep this up, we may end up specializing in Bolivian coffee 🤔.

Muchas gracias！Thank you so much to the Rodríguez  family and everyone at Agricafe, Muchas gracias!

We made it to an agri-cafe that has captivated coffee lovers worldwide with visitors from many countries 😌.

We were warmly welcomed by Pedro, the company’s founder, Pablo (his son), who manages the farms and small producers and is responsible for the process; and Daniela (his daughter), who is in charge of quality control and customer contact worldwide.

I had always wanted to visit the Agricafé cupping lab because of its location, a place any coffee maker would dream of visiting. However, when I entered the lab, the facility was even more sophisticated and impressive than I had imagined 😭.

In the morning, we cupped (tasted) a small producer’s lot in the Caranavi district and another from Finca Rodríguez  in the Samaipata district. It was our first cupping on day 4!

All 14 coffees prepared were of excellent quality, and everyone shared and discussed their favorite lot numbers with each other 😌.

Afterward, we had lunch and toasted with Bolivian wine before playing a board game of soccer with the Agri-Cafe folks. That was so much fun…! Even if we don’t speak the same language, I felt we could get to know each other by playing together＊.

In the afternoon, we visited a wet mill (the site where coffee is produced and processed). A biologist stationed in the mill kept track of everything, controlling the number of microorganisms and changes in the number of bacteria that occurred in the coffee during each lot’s refining process. Amazing!

Currently, almost 100% of the coffee refined at AgriCafe gets washed using anaerobic fermentation (anaerobic). This process is a recent trend, but many find the fermentation smell and intense flavors unpleasant; even I could have had a better impression of it. Moreover, in the absence of research data, anaerobic fermentation taught me that there is a risk of potentially harmful ingredients for the drinkers of that coffee.

However, at Agricafe, the cherries are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized after harvest to minimize any inhibitors in the process. Then, anaerobic fermentation is conducted with the terroir of the soil and the variety in mind.

”It’s not just about experimentation, but about research and controlling the process.” These words showed the Rodriguez family’s persistent curiosity and pride in Bolivia as a coffee-producing country.

Thank you very much everyone at Agricafe, for this valuable experience.

I heard there are many experiences available at Agricafe today as well. I was so excited that I woke up at 3:00 in the morning lol.

 After leaving Finca Isabel, we headed to Mr. Celso’s Golondrina Farm in the Bolinda district.

 The farm won first place in the 2019 President’s Cup (a green bean quality competition) and has won top prizes many times before.

 Golondrina means “swallow” in Spanish. As the name implies, there are swallow nests on the farm, and several wild birds flutter around.

 When we arrived at the plantation, we got treated to a cup of iced tea brewed with Geisha cascara (dried coffee cherries extracted from the cascara). I don’t know how to describe the taste; I found the aroma sweet and unique, like Asada candy, and the flavor was like drinking an elegant lemon tea, What a luxurious experience.

Mr. Celso told us that the landowner suddenly had to give up the farm due to old age and a poor harvest. Although he had first produced 240 bags (one bag weighs about 60 kg), he could only harvest 40 this year.

 He told us that he is now working hard while saving money to get the land back into his own hands, which he has been doing for over 20 years.

 We then moved to the Copacabana district. There, we saw a plot of land planted with coffee that had won the President’s Cup.

 After desperately climbing up the hill, nearly tumbling down the steep slope (it was scary), we arrived at a place with a spectacular view…!

 Not to make assumptions, but the coffee grown in this place must surely be great. But, of course, that is because there was such an overwhelming atmosphere.

 I was impressed by Mr. Celso’s efforts to continue growing coffee without giving up, even under such circumstances.  The only way we contribute to the coffee industry is by purchasing coffee, even if only a little, so we decided to put in more effort and buy more coffee.

 Thank you so much, Mr. Celso and everyone at the plantation, for this valuable experience!

 En route to Finca Isabel, a fantastic coffee farm.

 We visited the farm and lab of Fernando Calle and his wife, Gabriela.

 I can describe it in one word: “breathtaking.

 As you enter the beautifully landscaped farm, you will notice that the cherries on the coffee trees from the entrance to the back of the property are all at different stages of ripeness!

 Most of the plantings are Geisha, along with Bourbon, Java, and F1 (a new variety developed by Mr. Calle). The Geisha cherries served to us were amazingly sweet with complex flavors of lychee, honey, and grapes.

 The taste was mouthwatering and kept on tasting. I was impressed from start to finish.

 It was interesting to see how the pickers (coffee pickers) get paid for their care rather than being quick. The production process changes according to the climate at that time, and there are many other detailed innovations*.

“We want to show that you don’t need a big plantation or state-of-the-art equipment to produce high-quality coffee.”

 These words conveyed Mr. Calle and his team’s belief in their mission.

 The coffee has attracted attention from all over the world and far exceeded roasters’ expectations.  Mr. Calle states, “We don’t want to increase production anymore; we want to keep the quality of our coffee and our current customers in mind. That is why TYPICA is our last customer.”

 The coffee is quite expensive and rare, so I wonder if I can get it in the future. (I heard that the highest price paid at an auction was over 50,000 yen for 1 kg of coffee in one year😳)

 Someday we will do our best to make it available for everyone in Aomori to enjoy 😌.

 Thank you so much to everyone at Finca Isabel ☕️!

Nassia’s coffee farm  doesn’t use pesticides and has been in operation for a long time while protecting the forest and its people 😌.

I received many explanations about the pursuit of quality and environmental considerations, too many to mention here.

I was particularly impressed that among the ripe coffee cherries, only the wine-red ones, not the red ones, are harvested and further sorted after harvesting.

This process requires six separate harvests from a single tree, and it is inspiring to see the tremendous work and passion that Nassia puts into her coffee.

Until a few years ago, they did not have a pulper (a machine that removes the outer skin and pulp from the coffee cherries) and only used the natural process. However, with TYPICA’s support, they were able to purchase machines and drying beds ✨From now on, they will also work on washed coffee as well.

After the harvesting experience, the villagers prepared a traditional meal with music and dancing, and everyone sat around the table together.

The village head, Nassia’s grandfather, and Nassia spoke to us and expressed their joy with tears in their eyes.

When we said goodbye, he said, “Thank you so much. Even if you don’t end up buying coffee from my farm, we would be delighted if you enjoyed our coffee here in Taypiplaya or anywhere else in Bolivia.’”

If I was in the same position, I am sure I would not have been able to say such a thing as I headed to the following location.

During these past two days, I felt touched by Nassia’s passion and love for her hometown, which made me fall in love with the place called Taypiplaya. I would like to see Nassia again.

Thank you so much to Nassia’s family and everyone in Taypiplaya for your heartfelt welcome ☕️.

Muchas gracias！

On September 7th, after two days of travel from Japan, I arrived at El Alto airport, located over 4,000m above sea level. Unfortunately, after passing through immigration, I fell ill due to altitude sickness.

I was fitted with an oxygen tank and recovered well after a 6-hour drive from La Paz to Taypiplaya. The road was quite steep.

We went to Nassia’s house, where we will stay today. Lunch was delicious, and we felt energized. There had never been a group of Japanese people visiting Taypiplaya before, she said, and we were more than happy to hear that they were delighted to see us. Tomorrow we will visit Nasia’s coffee farm 😌

Afterward, we went to the commodity (non-specialty) coffee cherry collection area. They buy harvested cherries and process them for production. There appeared to be many problems with the process leading up to the green beans, not just the degree of ripeness.

And finally, we headed to Rolando Martinez’s farm!

Rolando’s farm is about an hour’s drive uphill from the town of Taypiplaya, at an altitude of about 1,650 meters.

He is a small-scale farmer who grows disease-resistant and good-flavored coffee. He carefully harvests ripe coffee cherries and gradually increases production while investing in facilities.

We also carry Mr. Rolando’s beans in our store, and I felt moved to meet him because he was a producer I had wanted to meet for a long time.

I was happy he told me, “Please come back next year.” It may not be yearly, but I wanted to see him again.

The first day was very intense, and there was a lot more that I experienced today, but I am very much looking forward to tomorrow onwards☺︎

〈Our encounter with TYPICA〉

In fact, our shop is a small coffee stand with just 7 seats. With a tiny roaster with a 1-kilogram capacity, we roast coffee beans in small batches. We only roast around 200 kilograms a month. We are a so-called micro roaster.

We first found out about TYPICA in a clip of a community cupping event in Tokyo that someone posted online.

Fascinated by the powerful phrase, “Direct trading from a single 60-kilogram jute bag,” I sent out a message on Instagram, asking for a community cupping event in the Tohoku region.

As I exchanged messages with Ms. Fujii of TYPICA, I was impressed with the care and commitment she put into trying to respond to messages from a small roaster like ourselves, and with the strong energy she had for advancing Japan’s coffee culture.

Despite various challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the first ever community cupping in Tohoku was held in the city of Sendai in November 2020. The event featured a colorful range of coffees with great flavors from Cultivar of Peru.

The first ever lot we bought was from Susie, a female farm owner. It had mellow, rich flavors evoking berries or caramel

During the community cupping, Lisanne of Cultivar took plenty of time to answer questions about each coffee.

Susie’s coffee had the complex fruitiness and sweetness of natural coffee, despite being washed. I wondered how her coffee came to possess such flavors and asked questions. Lisanne said that she accessed farm information in real-time and took care of the fermentation process to create such flavors.

Where else could I have accessed coffee origins or farmers so directly?

Previously, we looked at lineups prepared by trading firms and decided which coffee to buy based on prices and tasting comments. That was the norm.

That day, we were able to break through what had been normal to us.

〈What it means to brew directly traded coffee in Aomori〉

Thanks to TYPICA, small coffee shops like ourselves are now able to directly trade coffees from various coffee origins.

Starting with Peru, we’ve sourced from 8 producing countries so far, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Indonesia.

I’ve just written only positive things, but there are some issues, too. I assume many small-scale roasters choose to buy somewhere between 1 and 30 kilograms tops of green coffee to avoid the risk of excess inventory. That’s a reasonable business decision.

Even though we buy coffee that we think is great, that doesn’t necessarily mean consumers think it is great, too. We sometimes end up with a surplus of green coffee beans after mustering  courage and buying a large volume, partly because of a lack of our abilities.

There have been a few times where green beans arrived in Japan a few months behind their estimated port entry, which makes it difficult to plan sourcing.

Should we switch back to the previous sourcing method?

My answer is no.

That’s because I feel joy and happiness when I get to meet great coffees and producers around the world through TYPICA, and I feel energy when I introduce coffees to customers. 

Customers tell me, “Roland’s Bolivian coffee was amazing, so I came back to buy it again!,” or, “Marcos’s iced coffee from Peru is my favorite these days!.” I feel more often, they are becoming interested in coffee producers, not just in coffee itself. That’s a very nice thing to see as a barista and roaster.

At a coffee shop quietly standing in a shopping street of the regional city of Aomori, Japan, a community springs up thanks to coffees produced by farmers far away. Isn’t that a miracle?

That’s why I want to continue to try direct trade, no matter how small we are.

〈Off to Bolivia and Peru next month〉

If someone asks me what my favorite is among the green coffees I buy through TYPICA, Bolivia and Peru come to mind first.

Coffees grown by small-scale farmers who only produce a few bags sometimes turn out to be amazing. Such miraculous coffees abound in Bolivia and Peru.

When I cup samples, I feel excited like I’m on a treasure hunt. Coffees from Bolivia and Peru are very well-received among my customers, too.

That’s why I chose Bolivia (and I wish to go to Peru, though it wasn’t on the list) on a questionnaire about a coffee origin of my choice.

Fortunately, my wish was granted, and I will be traveling to South America next month with roasters I look up to.

I’ve told my customers over the past 2 months that I will be off to Bolivia in September. Honestly, I was worried if they might react negatively to me closing the shop for more than 2 weeks. But that worry proved unfounded.

Some of them expressed joy, and other worried about my health. Thanks to the TYPICA Lab project, I’m once again feeling the kindness of people in Aomori.

I wonder what new encounters and emotions this trip has in store for me.

I want to make preparations little by little so that I will be able to give back what I learn during the trip.