kusillo: bolivia

coffee production in Bolivia has always been quite small. while it’s always been known for quality, production has rapidly declined, one reason for this is that many farmers switched to coca – grown for the drug trade & illegal to produce in Caranavi – because it provided them with a solid year-round income. over the last 10 years, Rodriguez has worked tirelessly to build production & expand the market for Bolivian specialty coffee, helping hundreds of local farmers realise the potential of their land & crops. Pedro began his journey in coffee by working with small producers in Caranavi, building a wet mill to process their coffee, and educating producers to selectively handpick their cherries. he also started to process small micro-lots from each of the producers. due to the unique combination of heirloom varieties, rich soil & incredibly high altitudes, the results were outstanding.

in 2012, as leaf rust started to wipe out the production in many small farms, Pedro & his family began to invest in their own plantations, concerned that coffee production in Bolivia would disappear entirely. they recognised this was critical to guaranteeing a minimum supply level and ensuring the future sustainability of their business. after acquiring land in Caranavi, near their Buena Vista mill, they created their first farm, Finca La Linda.

today Agricafe has 12 farms and around 130 hectares of coffee under the banner of ‘Fincas Los Rodriguez’.  seven are in Caranavi, La Paz, and the remaining five are in Samaipata, Santa Cruz in Bolivia’s east. the Rodriguez family’s approach to coffee production is methodical, innovative & scientific. along the way, they’ve consulted with leading specialty coffee agronomists from around the world to help them produce exceptional coffee and build sustainable & healthy farms. a wide range of varieties have been trialled, along with different farming techniques, to optimise quality & output. they’ve carefully documented their findings at every step of the way, and continue to innovate & invest in improvements to produce the very best quality coffee they can.

Kusillo (which means ‘monkey’), is the name of a cheeky character who acts like a jester or buffoon in many folkloric dances from the Bolivian highlands. dancers representing Kusillo wear bright & colourful wool masks and dance around with humour & positive energy for the entertainment of the crowds. the Rodriguez family chose to name their farm Finca Kusillo as an ode to their philosophy that happiness & good humour should be present in everything you do.

Finca Kusillo was planted in 2015 with Java & Red Caturra coffee trees. the farm is 10.3 hectares in size and sits next to La Linda, the first of the Fincas Los Rodriguez. a row of banana trees separates these two farms where the workers rest during harvest season.

typically, the harvest in Bolivia runs from Jun-Oct, but at Kusillo it usually starts a little earlier. the high elevation – about 1,468 metres above sea level – helps to ensure the coffee cherries ripen slowly; at high altitudes, night-time temperatures are more stable, during the day the temp is milder. this allows for a higher concentration of sugars to develop in the cherry & bean, which helps produce an incredibly sweet & clean coffee. generally, the Java beans are the first to mature, followed by the red Caturra.

this 100% Caturra lot was carefully picked & processed on the same day at the Rodriguez family’s Buena Vista mill. after being weighed, it’s carefully sorted by weight using water. any floaters are removed before it’s pulped & ‘dry fermented’ without water for around 46 hours.

the coffee is then laid out to dry on raised beds & regularly turned for up to 48hrs, before being finished in a mechanical dryer for around 35hrs, with temps no higher than 40˚C. when the coffee reaches 16% humidity it’s rested for five hours in a silo, then carefully dried until it hits 11.5% humidity.

once the coffee is dry, it’s transported to La Paz where it’s rested before being milled at Agricafe’s dry mill, La Luna. at this state-of-the-art mill, the coffee is meticulously hulled & sorted using machinery, as well as by a team of sorters who carefully sort the coffee by hand under UV & natural light.