Bolivia: Gregorio Palli, Anoxic Washed

Bolivia: Gregorio Palli, Anoxic Washed

Sweet brown sugar fills the cup, with a pop of red grape at the start, followed by crisp apple that carries through the cup. An elegant nutmeg spice on the aftertaste makes this a complex but balanced coffee.

This Bolivian Caturra and Catuai coffee was grown by Gregorio Palli on his farm Volcan Del Tigre, before heading to the Agricafe Buena Vista mill to be processed using their Anoxic Washed technique.

A Family Story

When Gregorio was a young boy, his parents decided to move from their home in the Muñecas province of Bolivia (just north of Lake Titicaca) and travelled to the Caranavi area to provide him a better education. There was no school in their town, the roughly 100km relocation was worth it to give Gregorio a good start in life.

Gregorio is now a full-time coffee producer, living on his 12-hectare farm with his wife Daisy and his two youngest children. In his free time, Gregorio enjoys going on walks around town with his kids, swimming in the river, and playing football. He has owned his coffee farm for 35 years now and the little ones love to help their dad out when they can.

His brother Julio also runs his own coffee farm nearby, as does his daughter Nancy (one of his two grown-up children from his first marriage) who has graduated from helping on the farm to running her own. Clearly the move to Caranavi was a felicitous decision for Abuela y Abuelo Palli!

The Best Bolivian Coffee

The Caranavi province sits towards the western edge of Bolivia, on the eastern slopes of the Andes mountain range. Caranavi means "high place" in the Aymara language, one of the indigenous languages spoken in Bolivia. Caranavi province is in a transitional zone between the high Andes and the Amazon basin. It is known for its lush vegetation and has been dubbed the "Coffee Capital of Bolivia" for its ideal growing conditions and over 13,000 hectares of plantations. Caranavi is the hub for amazing Bolivian specialty coffee.

Caranavi town (the capital of the province) itself is too low in altitude to grow coffee, so the farms are all situated in the surrounding hills. The Palli family’s farms are dotted around the Copacabana colonia (the Bolivian term for small agricultural villages), as are some other Ozone favourites such as Vincent Palli and Martin Chorino. It’s safe to say the region produces some truly delicious coffees.

Tigers and Gold

Gregorio’s farm covers 12 hectares in total but only 2 hectares are currently used to grow coffee. It is named Volcán del Tigre, which translates to "Tiger’s Volcano" in English, although "tigre" is used locally to mean jaguars.

Prior to becoming the well-tended specialty coffee farm it is today, the land used to be very overgrown with wild vegetation. Local people used to say that they saw smoke rising from one of the hills in the jungle and thought it must be a volcano. Legend has it that when smoke comes from the hills, there's gold to be found there.

Around the same time, nearby residents also noticed what appeared to be a footpath running through the land. This turned out to be a tiger's path, worn into the landscape by prowling big cats. To this day, Gregorio doesn't keep animals on the farm as they might become el tigre's next meal.

He is looking to expand his coffee-growing area over more of the remaining ten hectares on his farm and is really excited about what the future at Volcán del Tigre holds.

Tomorrow Looks Bright

Gregorio’s farm is part of the Sol de la Mañana project, run by our Bolivian exporting partners Agricafe. He says he's already learned a great deal about sowing coffee and fighting coffee pests. He's had issues in the past with leaf rust, borer beetle, and mycena citricolor, but thanks to the programme he's been able to get them all under control.

When growing coffee on such a small plot of land, even a small portion of the coffee harvest being lost to pests can be devastating to a producer, so ensuring harvests remain unspo

Produced by Gregorio Palli in the Caranavi region of Bolivia, this lot showcases the potential of the Caturra varietal when subjected to precise post-harvest techniques. As an anoxic washed coffee, it undergoes a fermentation process where oxygen is restricted, a method that often influences the final cup profile by emphasizing clarity and acidity. While processing methods vary widely in their impact on the bean, this specific approach highlights a distinct profile of brown sugar, red grape, crisp apple, and nutmeg spice.

Sourced by Has Bean, this coffee serves as a compelling example of how regional terroir and controlled fermentation can shape sensory characteristics. For those looking to better understand the nuances of these specific descriptors, consulting a flavor wheel can be a helpful tool for identifying the subtle interplay between the fruit-forward notes and the underlying spice. This lot represents a focused expression of Bolivian coffee production, balancing traditional varietal traits with modern processing innovation.