After our stunning visit at the Takesi farm, Casper and I meet up with the Daniela and Pedro Pablo Rodriguez from Agricafé to drive to Caranavi. It was a breath-taking 4-hour drive going on narrow roads from the steep and rocky mountains at Takesi to the very green, fertile and almost wave-like mountains the surrounded Caranavi.

In Caranavi the Rodriguez family run the mill Agricafé. At the mill they both process coffees from their own seven farms, these coffees go under the name Fincas Los Rodriguez. But they also process and buy cherries from small farmers from the area and these coffees are referred to as Finca Buena Vista. 

We were here to cup this year’s harvest and try to decide what to bring back home, so we spend the most of our time here cupping at their beautiful cupping room with the view over the mountains surrounding Caranavi. 

In the cupping, we were presented with a lot of different coffees from both Fincas Los Rodriguez and Finca Buena Vista. We were impressed with the quality of the cupping that was exceptionally high, and they also showed a broad diversity of coffees. We started out with two tables of washed coffees all very clean, sweet and aromatic. After few got to taste a few Geishas from the area and then their Coco Naturals

Once again it was the Coco Naturals that for us took the spotlight on the cupping tables. Aromas were fruity and fragrant, and the coffee was sweet, acidic and complex. The idea behind Coco Naturals is as we previously have described dehydrating the cherry instead of just drying it. The way the process works is that the cherries are dried on raised beds under a special UV-filter shade for the first days and then after this, they are finished in the Coco Dryers for a slowly and consistently drying/dehydration. 

After the cupping, we took a quick look at the facilities. Once again the Rodriguez family has invested in new coco-driers to make sure they can keep up with the demand. 

From here we took a drive to visit some of the farms. In the car, Pedro Pablo explained how they as a part of the Sol de Manana educating project is working together with the farmers from Finca Buena Vista to increase quality and yield. 

Our first stop was in Copacabana in Coloni, where we meet with the farmer Julio Gonzalez at his farm located in 1466masl. Here Julio is producing both red and yellow Caturra and also a little Typica, and he has been working together with the Rodriguez family since 2014. His farm was very well organized, and all the trees looked very healthy and lush. 

We're super happy to have the coffee availble in our coffee shops, online and for wholesale customers now. Check out the Buena Vista filter and espresso versions below.