Carmelo Yurja - Java - Double Washed // Nor Yungas, Bolivia

Carmelo Yurja Ticona and Deysi Ramos Carrillo manage Senda Salvaje—“the wild road”—together, deep within the Nor Yungas region of Bolivia.  The farm sits at the edge of the jungle, where nature, including jaguar, are often seen interacting with their farm.  Carmelo for years served as a Cup of Excellence quality manager, where he’s honed his palate and set his ambitions for producing  specialty coffee.

Alongside their existing seven hectares, they’ve recently acquired six more and planted newer varieties, which are now beginning to flower.  Carmelo works collaboratively with his community, where ideas and methods are shared.  Through this collaboration he’s honed his fermentation methods, which borrow from Kenyan-style processing.  We find that this brings deep sweetness and clarity from Carmelo’s coffees.

“My wife and I both had parents who were coffee and fruit producers. My parents had a 5-hectare-size farm but they mixed all the coffees and shipped them out. When I started separating them by the variety and thought about the fermentation methods, everything changed. I improved it better than what my parents were doing. I also tell my children to do better than what we do.”

*Orders Roast Tuesday, ship Wednesday.  Order cutoff for same-week fulfillment is Monday at 11:59pm.