TIP: You can save products to
your favorites list if you log in
A flavorful coffee from the outskirts of the Madidi National Park in Apolo. It obtained 18th place on the 2007 Bolivia COE National Winners Competition. Vacuum-packed at Origin. Certified Organic. International Jury final Cupping Score: 81.88. Comments: Creamy sweet, good mouthfeel chocolate, not as complex, subte acidity, consistent bittersweet chocolate, fresh and lively, caramel chocolate, berry chocolate, dark chocolate, classic Bolivian coffee, fruity, well balanced, sweet orange, strawberry soft. Eloy Mendoza, farmer, leader, married with two children, has been involved in coffee production since he was a boy, He promoted the Cup of Excellence® competitions and he was its president during the first years of the Exporting Federation of Caficultores of Bolivia (FECAFEB).
Currently, he is majority partner with his brother Roberto of the Association of Producers Agroecológicos de Yanaloma-Apolo (APAY). Eloy indicates that this association has 12 partners, “together with my brother Roberto we began to produce coffee in Caranavi, but our plot was very small, so we decided to move to Apolo, where at the moment we have a total of 150 hectares”. During his time as coffee leader, Eloy also participated in Cup of Excellence® competitions, “participating in the coffee competitions helps us learn the attributes and characteristics that our coffee has. I believe that it is in the competitions where we know if our coffee is good or not “. At the present APAY exports to Holland, as Eloy indicates: “we export to Holland and we have proposals to export to the United States.”
Eloy participated in the 2007 Cup of Excellence® with his “Yanaloma 2” lot, obtaining rank 18 on the National Jury with a cupping score of 87.64, however, he didnt do that well with the International Jury, his coffee ranked 47 with cupping score of 81.88 points, below the COE benchmark of 84. Consequently his lot became a National Winner and it was sold at the domestic auction, where it was bough by INVALSA COFFEE. Eloy commented: “the National Auction was a very interesting experience, in previous competitions one had to accommodate one''s coffee and to sell it at low prices, but now no, with the National Auction the coffee was offered to several buyers, and that helped significantly those of us that were National Winners”. According to Eloy, APAY's vision is to manage the supply chain of coffee production in Apolo, “As APAY we want to produce a homogenous and profitable coffee for international buyers. Similarly we have projects to stimulate tourism, we are constructing guest houses for visitors, as our farms near the world-renown Madidi National Park. We want to show visitors, not only the beauty of the area, but also our coffee production process."
Eloy has invested all of his proceeds from the National Auction in improving his coffee farm; in the renovation of old coffee areas, and in the maintenance of new areas, with the purpose of continuing to improve the quality of his Apolo-origin coffee. Apolo is located in the Franz Tamayo Province, Department of La Paz. Eloy's coffee farm is certified organic by BioLatina.
Place/Colony/Community: Yanaloma
Canton: Aten
Province: Franz Tamayo
Altitude: 1.450 - 1.550 meters above sea level
Soil texture: Sandy Loam
Annual precipitation: 2000 mm/year
Type of shade: Forest Inga edulis species.
Size of the farm : 150 hectares (Area with coffee: 47 hectares)
Coffee Variety Distribution: 80% Catuai yellow and red - 15% Caturra, 5% Typica 3,2
Agricultural practices
Weeding: Four times per year
Farming practices: Use of Organic barriers, and erosion control
Fitosanitary control: Organic control of coffee borer pest. (no artificial pesticides) - BioLatina Organic Certification
