On our way to the Mondul coffee farm, we saw a breathtaking view. Exotic plants, wild swings in temperatures. My heart leapt with excitement, wondering what kind of terroir would be present in the coffee grown in this climate.

The Mondul coffee farm has been in operation since 1931. Through a cupping session, I was able to notice extremely attractive qualities of their coffee, including how clean their coffee is, their flavor notes and sweetness. When we visited their farm, we learned how they attend to their farm, their processing methods and management. And we deepened our understanding of how the owner controls the soil, how effectively he uses precious water, and how strictly he manages coffee lots.

They have preserved their robust philosophy and solid processing methods for more than 90 years. Even when many other farms converted to avocado, they stuck to their philosophy and have maintained the quality of their product.

When you think about that, you realize a cup of coffee on the table, a hot latte in your hand, is so much more than just a cup of coffee. You realize that it represents the philosophy and ideas of the coffee producer, their way of life, and the passion of the barista, and that coffee is a drink packed with such emotions.

But the reason I started drinking specialty coffee was my encounter with Kenyan coffee. It is through Kenyan coffee that I first learned varieties, flavor notes, and processing methods, as well as how to roast beans. I also practiced drip skills with Kenyan SL varieties. Now I work with coffee farms in Taiwan to grow SL varieties, using knowledge I gained from Kenya.

I appreciate the invite from TYPICA. I’m looking forward to learning more about Kenya and Tanzania, processing methods, varieties, up-and-coming small farms, and local cultures and interacting with people in the countries. I’m sure this experience will be helpful when I roast, brew, and plan marketing strategy in the future.

The La Paz airport is located at an altitude of over 4,000 meters.

It took us a while to pass immigration control. As soon as we came out of the airport, we hopped in a car, guided by local tour coordinators, to head to our accommodation of the day, Nassia’s house.

After 5 hours of a bumpy ride through what is known as a death road, we found ourselves at an altitude of 800 meters.

We arrived at Nassia’s house. It has a spacious, neatly trimmed garden. Nassia is a young coffee producer taking care of her family farm with her parents and grandparents.

After we introduced ourselves, we had a lunch break together.

Nassia served us homemade juice made from naranja and mandarin she grows alongside coffee cherries. They were very sweet and delicious.

The meal consisted of river fish caught in the Amazon, served with coffee sauce, papaiya, and yungas potato. All the dishes tasted of nature and were delicious.

After lunch, we toured a station that processes commercial coffee cherries harvested nearby. We also visited a farm run by Hollando, a cousin of Juan of Nayra Qata.

The farm would be just a 20-minute or so drive away. But because of the winding, bumpy road, it easily takes more than 1 hours to get there. Our bodies rocked back and forth, right and left, we finally got to Hollando’s farm.

The farm has a good amount of shade thanks to tall shade trees.

It has a diverse range of varieties grown in different sections, such as Catura, Castillo, Mundo Novo and Costa Rica95.

harvested cherries are transported to Mr. Juan’s mill in La Paz. But the farm also has small pulpers and African beds of its own, which allows producers to process coffee themselves on an experimental basis. They are eager to learn.

You can see a beautiful sunset at Hollando’s farm.

This is my first time to see firsthand coffee cherries, parchment, pulpers, African beds and coffee leaf rust.

I’m emotional, seeing these things for the first time with my own eyes.

Coffee farms are beautiful. Very beautiful.

They are built on the dynamism of nature.

I might feel like I have already seen a lot. But this is still Day 1 of our Bolivia tour.

I’m sure we are in for more experiences I can’t even begin to imagine.