Bolivia - Decaf

Check out our new freshly roasted Decaf Coffee from Bolivia!

Like all the decaf we roast, it’s a chemical-free Swiss water-processed Decaf Coffee.

The Swiss Water Process is 100% free of chemical solvents, and uses only coffee, water, time, and temperature to remove the caffeine from specialty coffee, leaving the origin character untouched. The result is amazing coffee without caffeine.

Pack: 200 grams

Altitude: 1850 masl

Variety: Caturra

Taste Notes: Caramel, sultana, clementine, milk chocolate.

Bolivian coffee: From past to present

The history of Bolivian coffee begins with the Spanish colonial presence in the region. The country was a Spanish colony from the mid-late 1500s until the early 19th century, before finally declaring independence in 1825.

It was around the same time, in the late 18th and early 19th century, that coffee was introduced to the country. It first emerged in the Yungas: a fertile, tropical area boasting high altitudes along the eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes.

Throughout the 1800s and into the early to mid-1900s, coffee production was limited in Bolivia. The small volumes of coffee that were left for consumption after exports were usually exclusively enjoyed by the country’s elite.

Large-scale coffee cultivation didn’t occur until the 1920s, with further agricultural reforms taking place in the mid-20th century.

“The most consequential outcome of the Bolivian National Revolution of 1952 was a government decree that initiated agricultural reform in 1953,” she says.

“This made it legal for newly freed indigenous people to take ownership of agricultural land.”

In the 1960s, the Bolivian state gave land to some indigenous farmers and miners in the Caranavi Province in the Yungas, which was largely unsettled at the time. In the 60 years since farming has proliferated in Caranavi, and it is now the largest coffee-growing region in the country.

“Indigenous coffee producers began organising, forming co-ops and other support organisations to strengthen their position at the negotiating table,” Veruschka says. “This included ANPROCA (National Coffee Producers Association) in 1976 and FECAFEB (Federation of Coffee Exporters of Bolivia) in 1991.”

Since then, the late 20th and early 21st centuries have given way to a new focus on coffee quality.

In 2014, the country held the first Taza Presidencial: an event that recognises, celebrates, and auctions Bolivia’s best coffees.

The Cup of Excellence also operated competitions in Bolivia from 2004 to 2009.

The growth of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram has supported Bolivian consumers to better understand what good coffee looks like.

The President of the Federation of Coffee Exporters of Bolivia (FECAFEB) says: “The level of understanding about the production and consumption of quality coffee is growing.

“Producers already know about the economic benefits of selling quality micro lots, and they understand doing so requires a greater investment in materials, equipment, and labour.”