Bolivia: Trapiche, Bourbon, Mosto Washed

You'll find juicy blackcurrant cordial and a spoonful of brown sugar in this cup which finishes with chunky bourbon biscuits for a truly chuggable mug.

The Trapiche farm is another venture by our friends at Agricafe in the Samaipata region of Bolivia. Pedro Rodriguez and his family also own a handful of other farms in the area: Floripondio, El Fuerte and Samaichacha and a whole host of other farms further afield in Bolivia, such as La Linda and Alasitas, that a lot of you will also be familiar with.

Trapiche's name was inspired by a vineyard of the same name in Argentina that Pedro visited before setting up this new farm in 2016. He and his family love good wine and have drawn on this when developing the design for this land. The word “Trapiche” originally refers to a type of mill made of wooden rollers used to extract juice from fruit such as grapes or olives.

The Rodriguez family are continuously looking for inspiration from other coffee-producing countries and from other industries such as winemaking – Trapiche is an example of this winery inspiration in action. The farm is a truly amazing place and the team have designed it to look and function like a vineyard, using those methodologies to refine their coffee production process. This is particularly fitting as Samaipata is an up-and-coming wine region within Bolivia, with several small vineyards located only a short distance from Trapiche.

The farm has only been operational since 2016 so it's still very young but the results from the first few harvests are very exciting. Samaipata isn't a traditional coffee-growing region but it's one that the Rodriguez family have pioneered. The climate of the Samaipata region is temperate, semi-dry in the winter months, and mild with an average annual temperature of 19.9°C. During the winter months, cold fronts called Surazos come from the Argentine Pampas and enter the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz, these cold winds combined with the altitude can reach temperatures below freezing. In the summer the days are warm and the nights cool, this variation in diurnal temperature causes the cherries to take a longer time to ripen and their mucilage becomes very thick. The local soil contains a lot of magnesium, which is great for growing coffee and means that the coffee plants are less susceptible to roja, or other fungi. All of these factors contribute to a very unique taste profile.

What Is Mosto Washed Processing?

The meticulous processing carried out at the Buena Vista mill manages the fermentation, depulping and drying processes to ensure exceptional quality - aided by their onsite laboratory where the coffee is analysed daily and its progress tracked. Through their exacting systems and traceability, alongside a world-class cupping team, they've been able to refine their techniques whilst continuing to learn for the future. Mosto is a Spanish word which describes fresh fruit juices - specifically before they are fermented. The same root gives the English word for this, used in wine-making - a Must.

Starting with two batches of coffee, the first is processed using the regular Washed technique (depulped, fermented in a closed tank, rinsed, and taken to dry) and the liquids from that first fermentation are saved. With the pH and microbial levels closely monitored and managed, the next batch of coffee cherries then goes through its own processing – with the fermentation step carried out with the coffee beans submerged in this mosto juice. Once the fermentation has broken down any remaining pulp, this is also rinsed and dried. Utilising these fresh, already fermenting juices for the second coffee gives the process a kick start which seems to help develop the complex, juicy flavours in these coffees.

To dive into Mosto coffee processing in more detail, check out our blog article here: https://ozonecoffee.co.uk/blogs/coffee-processing-explained/what-is-mosto-processing 

• Country: Bolivia
• Region: Samaipata
• Department: Santa Cruz
• Farm: Trapiche
• Altitude: 1,667 m.a.s.l.
• Producers: Fincas Los Rodriguez
• Variety: Bourbon
• Process: Mosto Washed

Medium to Medium Dark
Keep the pace steady and push through first, through to the end of the gap and just the first pops of second once the roast is cooling.

Cupping Notes: Blackcurrant cordial, bourbon biscuit, brown sugar.

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean Cup: 7/8
• Sweetness: 6.5/8
• Acidity: 6/8
• Mouthfeel: 6/8
• Flavour: 6.5/8
• Aftertaste: 6/8
• Balance: 6.5/8
• Overall: 7.5/8
• Correction: +36
• Total: 88/100

If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post "What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?"