Alasitas: an important date for your Bolivian calendar as well as a delicious coffee for your mug! The 24th of January each year sees the beginning of the month-long festival of Alasitas, held in honour of Ekeko (iqiqu), the god of abundance. Ekeko is presented with miniature models as offerings of what each person wishes to have or achieve, and I know for sure that if I'd been in Caranavi this January then I'd have been making my offering of an itty-bitty miniature bag of this coffee! "Alasitas" literally translates to "buy me" in the local Aymaran language, and that's just what we did!

Las Alasitas is the biggest farm of Fincas Buena Vista and is owned by the Rodriguez family. You'll have heard of them before if you're a long-time Hasbean fan, because we love to champion the outstanding things they're doing for the Bolivian coffee industry.

The farm covers 20.6 hectares (16 are used for coffee) at 1,550 metres above sea level in the Bolinda colony of Caranavi, Bolivia. This is just north of the department of La Paz city, 150 kilometres from the capital, and is recognised as the gold standard area for coffee production in Bolivia due to its fertile soils and high altitude; these are factors that contribute to famously high-quality coffees.

The Rodriguez family have a long history (three decades!) of processing and exporting coffee from their own mills for the farmers in the Caranavi and Sud Yungas regions. Due to the steady decline of coffee production in Bolivia, they branched out in 2014 by buying land in Caranavi to showcase their practices and educate other producers in sustainable farming.

Without the intervention of people like the Rodriguez family, the future of coffee production in Bolivia would be at risk of disappearing altogether. Thankfully for everyone who loves Bolivian coffee, they decided that they could make a change and make things better. They have taken on the challenge of increasing production in the country by planting their own new coffee plantations. They are currently also developing woodland on their farm to combat the ongoing issue of deforestation. What superstars!

The land at Las Alasitas has been planted with Caturra, Java (Longberry) and Geisha. The family have also introduced a sustainable model for the producers who supply them at their mill. They built this on three mantras: economical sustainability, social understanding, and environmental awareness – the Sol de la Mañana program.

Fresh mango pops from the start, but then big, biscuity sweetness which comes rolling in afterwards, like a fig roll but with an edge of almond in there too. This is a funky natural and as it cools there's a really creamy, boozy quality to it.

Country: Bolivia
Region: Yungas
Municipality: Caranavi
Colony: Bolinda
Farm: Finca Las Alasitas
Farm size: 20.6 hectares
Coffee growing area: 16 hectares
Varietal: Longberry
GPS: 15º46'43.07"S 67º32'53.06"O

Bolivia Las Alasitas Natural Longberry

We’re obsessed with coffee and the range of flavours that speciality coffee can offer. We travel the world in search of the best coffee on the planet, from some of the most outstanding coffee producers so that we can share those flavours with you and make remarkable coffee more available, sustainable and consistently delicious. At Hasbean, we roast coffee to order from our roastery just outside the county town of Stafford, provide wholesale coffee supply across the UK, deliver the freshest beans to your door, supply coffee brewing equipment and accessories and have an extensive range of coffee subscriptions so you get your brew just right - every time.

Bolivia Las Alasitas Natural Longberry

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Bolivia Las Alasitas Natural Longberry