Gregorio Palli Mamani – Volcán del Tigre, Bolivia
Gregorio Palli Mamani is a dedicated coffee producer from Copacabana, a colonia in Bolivia’s Caranavi province, the heart of the country’s specialty coffee production. His journey into coffee began when his parents moved from the remote province of Muñecas to Caranavi in search of better educational opportunities for Gregorio, as their hometown lacked a school.
Today, Gregorio lives on his farm, Volcán del Tigre, with his wife Daisy and their two youngest children. He also has two grown-up children from a previous marriage, who now have families of their own. The younger ones occasionally help out on the farm, and his brother Julio Palli Mamani runs a nearby coffee farm called San Bartolomé.
Gregorio has been farming this land for 35 years, and while the farm spans 12 hectares, only two hectares are currently planted with coffee. The remaining ten hectares hold promise for future expansion. He grows Caturra and Catuai varietals at an altitude of 1,504 meters above sea level, commonly using a washed processing method.
The name Volcán del Tigre, “Tiger’s Volcano”, is steeped in local legend. The land was once wild and overgrown, and locals claimed to see smoke rising from the hills, believing it to be volcanic activity. According to folklore, smoke from the hills signals the presence of gold. Around the same time, a path was discovered winding through the property, which turned out to be a trail used by a jaguar - referred to locally as a tigré. To this day, Gregorio avoids keeping livestock on the farm, fearing they might fall prey to the elusive feline.
Gregorio is a full-time coffee farmer with no other business ventures. He’s deeply committed to improving his craft and is an active participant in the Sol de la Mañana program, a long-term educational initiative founded by the Rodríguez family of Agricafe. The program supports smallholder farmers in Bolivia by offering training in nursery management, planting, pest control, pruning, and financial planning. It’s designed as a seven-year curriculum to help producers sustainably increase both quality and yield.
Through Sol de la Mañana, Gregorio has learned to manage common coffee diseases such as leaf rust, coffee borer beetle, and mycena citricolor. He credits the program with helping him bring these issues under control and is optimistic about expanding his coffee production in the coming years.
While Gregorio may not have discovered literal gold on his land, the coffee he produces is something special. Volcán del Tigre’s beans are known for their milk chocolate, orange, and dark chocolate notes, and have earned cupping scores in the high 80s, reflecting their exceptional quality.
In his free time, Gregorio enjoys simple pleasures - walking around town with his kids, swimming in the river, and playing football. His story is one of resilience, tradition, and a deep connection to the land, and Volcán del Tigre stands as a testament to what can be achieved with passion and perseverance.
