Carmelita Aduviri - Single Origin - BOLIVIA

Hibiscus tea, tamarind and rose hip florals

Variety: Caturra

Process: Coco Natural - Filter Roasted

Suggested methods: Pour over, Plunger, Aeropress, Cold Brew, Espresso and Stovetop 

Carmela Aduviri

This beautiful coffee comes from Carmela Aduviri, a producer based in Copacabana — a small, remote settlement about 180km from La Paz, in the heart of Caranavi province. Caranavi is considered the epicentre of specialty coffee in Bolivia, thanks to its high elevations, rich soils, and big temperature swings that help develop complex flavours.

Carmela moved to the region at 25 and has dedicated nearly 50 years to growing coffee, all while raising eight children. Her farm, Carmelita, is around three hectares in size and sits between 1,400–1,550 metres above sea level. Because of the steep terrain, the farm is arranged across five ‘floors’, with narrow corridors to help with picking and carrying cherries. Her home sits on one of the only flat spots on the land.

Carmelita is planted mostly with Caturra and Catuaí, along with a touch of Java. The family also grows mandarins and limes for their own use, making the farm not just a workplace, but a home.

How this coffee was processed

Carmela’s sons hand-picked this coffee with care and delivered it to Agricafe’s Buena Vista washing station — by taxi, as is common in the region. The mill, owned by the Rodríguez family, is known throughout Caranavi for its meticulous attention to detail and its commitment to processing each lot separately, ensuring full traceability back to the individual farmer.

Inspired by the wine industry, Agricafe constantly experiments with processing methods to bring out the unique character of each coffee. This particular lot was part of one of their experimental batches — a reflection of their long-term vision to create exceptional, diverse profiles.

Evenings at Buena Vista are full of energy. After a long day of harvesting, farmers begin arriving in the late afternoon with their cherries — often in taxis — and by 7pm, a long line forms outside the mill. Only perfectly ripe cherries are accepted, and each delivery is carefully inspected before processing begins.

Once accepted, the cherries for this lot were sorted by weight and cleaned using La Maravilla — a water-efficient machine the Rodríguez family affectionately call “the wonder.” From there, the coffee was washed and laid out to dry on patios for 48–72 hours, before being moved into Buena Vista’s coco dryers — a series of stationary steel boxes that gently circulate warm air beneath the coffee bed to dry the parchment slowly and evenly. As the cherries dry, they turn a dark reddish-brown, similar to cocoa powder — hence the name. Throughout the process, the coffee was stirred manually to ensure uniform drying.

Once dry, the parchment coffee was transported to La Paz, where it was rested before being hulled and sorted at Agricafe’s state-of-the-art dry mill, La Luna. There, the coffee underwent both mechanical and manual sorting — with a team of workers meticulously inspecting each lot under UV and natural light to ensure only the best beans made it through.

ORIGIN: Bolivia

REGION: Caranavi - La Paz

VARIETY: Caturra

PROCESS: Coco Natural Anaerobic

ALTITUDE: 1,500 MASL

SUGGESTED METHODS: Plunger, Pour over, Aeropress, Cold Brew, Stovetop and espresso.