Episode 651: Bolivia Teodocio Mamani

We first encountered Teodocio Mamani back in 2012. Long story short: he's an amazing guy doing great things with coffee!

Teodocio's farm sits in the municipality of Canton Uyunense in Caranavi, and this coffee is a mixed lot of red and yellow Catuai. Teodocio has one hectare of land on his farm that is a natural forest reserve, in which he owns a house where he lives with his wife and two children.

Teodocio processes the majority of his coffee on his own farm. He uses a depulper that removes the cherry, then leaves the cherry to go through a dry fermentation process (anaerobic) for sixteen hours, and then runs it through the scrubber section of the pulper to remove the final remains of the mucilage. He then transfers the coffee to raised African beds, where it dries in around twelve days (depending on local weather conditions).

We were talking to the exporter about Teodocio's picking methods, and he was explaining that the family uses a method called 'Ayne'. With this method the most mature fruits are harvested each day by hand, demanding the labour of 8–10 people (who are all Mamani family members) to pick selectively and correctly. But because of this he gets more coffee that he can sell as specialty grade, and the cup profile improves too. Teodocio is super passionate about improving the cup quality!

Starting with brown sugar, this swings quickly into honeycomb. It's definitely sweet, but a gentle hint of mango alongside it and then a bit of lime zest on the finish adds a softly fruity edge. The aftertaste keeps that going with juicy raisin, tempting you back for another sip.

• Country: Bolivia
• Region: Yungas
• Province: Caranavi
• Municipality: Canton Uyunense
• Farm: Teodocio Mamani
• Varietals: Caturra and Catuai
• Ripe cherry colour: Red and yellow
• Altitude: 1,600–1,750 m.a.s.l.
• Processing method: Mechanically washed
• Fermentation method: Dry (anaerobic)
• Fermentation time: 16 hours
• Drying method: Raised African beds
• Drying time: 12 days

CUPPING NOTES Brown sugar, honeycomb, mango, lime zest, raisin.

Clean cup: (1–8): 6
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
Flavour: (1–8): 6.5
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5
Balance: (1–8): 7
Overall: (1–8): 6.5
Correction:(+36): +36

Total (max. 100): 87.5

Roast Information
Medium-dark - reduce the heat during first crack and let them run through to the end of the gap. Drop just before second crack begins.