Bolivia: Volcán Del Tigre, Mosto Washed

Gregorio Paye's parents moved from a province called Muñecas to the Caranavi area when he was a child. They were searching for an education for Gregorio, as there was no school in their town.

Nowadays, he lives with his wife Daisy and his two youngest children on a farm he's owned for 35 years. He has two grown-up children from his first marriage that have families of their own, but the two little ones help out on the farm from time to time. His brother, Julio Paye, also has a coffee farm nearby. In his free time, Gregorio enjoys going on walks around town with his kids, swimming in the river and playing football.

Gregorio is a full-time coffee farmer; he doesn't have any other businesses. His farm has twelve hectares in total, two of which he currently grows coffee on. The farm is called Volcán del Tigre, which means Tiger's Volcano. Tigré is Spanish for tiger, but is used locally to mean Jaguars. It used to be overgrown – wild vegetation – and people used to say they saw smoke coming from one of the hills, and thought it was a volcano (legend has it that when smoke comes from the hills, there's gold to be found). Around the same time, people noticed what seemed to be a footpath running through the land. It turns out it was a tiger's path. To this day, Gregorio doesn't keep animals on the farm as they might become the tiger's next meal.

Gregorio also participates in the Sol de la Mañana program. He says he's already learned a great deal about sowing coffee and fighting coffee pests. He's had issues with leaf rust, borer Beetle, and mycena citricolor, but thanks to the program he's been able to get them all under control.

He has another ten hectares on his farm to keep growing coffee on, and he's really excited about what the future at Volcán del Tigre holds. Gregorio might not have found gold on his farm like the legend foretold, but what he did find comes pretty close!

You may notice a part of the processing method of this coffee you haven't come across before, Mosto, and we wanted to take a moment to explain just what that means.

Mosto is a Spanish word which describes fresh fruit juices - particularly before they are fermented. The same root gives the English word for this, used in wine-making - a Must. In the case of this coffee, it means:

• You start with two batches of coffee.
• The first batch of coffee (a regular washed coffee) is depulped, fermented in a closed tank, rinsed and taken to the beds to dry.
• The liquids - the Mosto - from that first fermentation are saved, with the pH and microbial levels monitored and managed.
• Batch 2 (this will be the Mosto Washed) is depulped and the Mosto is added to the coffee.
• Once the fermentation breaks down any remaining pulp, the coffee is rinsed and dried.
• Using these fresh, already fermenting juices gives the process a kick start which seems to help develop the complex, juicy flavours in these coffees.

• Country: Bolivia
• Colony: Copacabana
• Altitude: 1,504 m.a.s.l.
• Farm: Volcán del Tigre
• Producer: Gregorio Paye Mamani
• Processing method: Mosto Washed
• Varietals: Caturra

Tasting notes: Brown sugar, raisins, dried cranberry.

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean cup: (1–8): 6
• Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5
• Acidity: (1–8): 6.5
• Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
• Flavour: (1–8): 6.5
• Aftertaste: (1–8): 6
• Balance: (1–8): 6.5
• Overall: (1–8): 6
• Correction: (+36): +36
• Total: (max. 100): 86.5

Roast Information
Medium-dark: take this through first and just up to the edge of second crack, keeping a nice steady pace to balance the sweet and acidic apple elements in this coffee.