It’s Time to Plan for Bolivia and Brazil!

Published 01 Aug 2023

This month, MCM is heading to Bolivia and Brazil! We’re thrilled to get back on the road to visit our South American supply partners and select coffees from the current harvest. Before we head off, we want to hear from you to help us build our buying brief and accurately plan for the 2023 season.

In just three weeks, Fleur and Rafa are off to Bolivia for our first visit since 2019! While in the country, we’ll be catching up with our good friends the Rodríguez family of Agricafe Bolivia and spending time at their farms in Caranavi. We also plan to visit a number of smallholder farmers who are part of the Sol de la Mañana program, including Julio Paye, Carmela Aduviri and the Mamani family. The harvest is already in full swing, and we’re looking forward to a busy, fun-filled and educational trip, with loads of great coffees to taste!

When selecting this year’s washed Caturra lots, Fleur and Rafa will look for classic Bolivian coffees with intense sweetness, great clarity and balanced acidity, that will produce exceptional filter or single origin espresso offerings. They’ll also be cupping a number of the rare variety and specially prepared microlots that Agricafe are so well-known for. For these, we’ll look for dazzling coffees that are distinct and unique, with high intensity and complexity of flavour, a refined cup profile, and a ‘taste of place’ retained within. 

After four long years since our last trip, we are ecstatic to be heading back to Bolivia! Stay tuned on our movements via our Insta stories, and get in touch now to make any requests.

Later in the month, Toshi and Aislinn will travel to Brazil for one of our most important sourcing trips of the year. The harvest in Brazil’s Chapada Diamantina region (where we purchase most of our coffee) got off to an early start, and we’re already hearing about the season’s excellent quality from our dear friend and supply partner, Silvio Leite.

We’re expecting another great visit with the Borré family, who produce delicious natural and pulped natural value lots on their estate, Fazenda Progresso. Toshi and Aislinn will also spend time with our treasured producing partners in the small town of Piatã, including Antonio and Terezinha Rigno (of São Judas Tadeu), Pedro and Delzute Santana (of Cafundó) and Kleumon Moreira (of Sitio Canaã). We can’t wait to catch up and taste their coffees together! When cupping we’ll focus on finding clean and consistent high-volume lots that represent excellent value for blending lines, along with distinct, stand out micro-lots that showcase the regions where they were grown, and shine as either espresso or filter offerings.

Now is the perfect time to let us know what you are interested in for your Bolivian and Brazilian line ups! Whether you would like to feature a particular offering you have loved in the past, or to brief us in on your preferred flavour profile, regional characteristics or intended volumes, our team is on hand to discuss what you’re after.

The more information we can gather now, the more accurate our brief for each origin will be, contributing to an efficient purchasing season. Over the next few weeks we’ll be contacting customers who regularly purchase large Brazilian volume lines or small Bolivian microlots through MCM. If you’re keen to hear from us and book a planning session to discuss your needs, simply get in touch — we’re here to help!