Bolivia: Jeivert Panuni, Honey

Raspberry, blackberry and redcurrant layer up in the cup like a summer berry medley, bright and juicy from the first sip, before shifting to a sweet cooked apple finish.

The remote region of Irupana sits in the South Yungas province towards the most westerly edge of Bolivia, nestled among the Andes at the edge of the country. It's to the south of Caranavi, the largest coffee-growing region in Bolivia, and shares a similar verdant – albeit slightly drier – high-altitude terrain that makes it excellent for growing coffee. Farms here are small (around 5 hectares on average) and the area has a strong, proud tradition of coffee farming. It's also a place with deep historical roots: Irupana was home to Pedro Domingo Murillo, a late 18th-century revolutionary who led the 1809 uprising against Spanish rule in La Paz, before being defeated by royalist forces at the Battle of Irupana and executed in 1810. He's remembered today as one of Bolivia's great independence martyrs.

We've only sourced coffee from Irupana a handful of times previously. Coffee from more remote parts of Bolivia is often made up of contributions from multiple smallholders, which means we can't always trace it back to individual farms. Thanks to improved traceability and deeper collaboration with the Sol de la Mañana programme, we're now seeing more single-producer lots like this one from Jeivert – and Roland was particularly excited about that development for the 2025 harvest.

Jeivert is a second-generation producer whose farm, La Avanzada – "The Advance" – is named in the spirit of Murillo's forward-looking defiance. He began his journey through the Irupana Cooperativo, which is where we first encountered his coffee back in 2016. By 2017, he'd gained enough experience to strike out on his own, setting up his own micro-mill to process his coffee independently. It proved a prescient move: the co-operative closed in 2019 as the number of local producers declined, many switching to coca leaf production. His wet mill is modest by commercial standards – purpose-built, with a brick drying room housing raised beds that protect the coffee from the elements while maintaining good airflow – but it's been transformative for the area. Jeivert's partner in the operation is his friend Grover Machaca, who has a 2-hectare farm nearby and brings his cherry to La Avanzada for processing. We have a solo lot from Grover this year too – you can grab a bag to brew side by side here.

Jeivert has experimented with both washed and honey processing, and it was Daniela Rodriguez of Agricafe who pointed him firmly towards honey – both for the exceptional cup quality it produces and because it's a relatively rare processing style in Bolivia's washed-dominated market. The results speak for themselves.

Traceability

Country: Bolivia
Region: Irupana
Department: La Paz
Province: Sud Yungas
Producer: Jeivert Pañuni
Farm: La Avanzada
Elevation: 1,800 m.a.s.l
Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Typica
Processing method: Honey

Roast Information

Medium Dark. Through the gap and let this develop a little in the gap before pushing through to the edge of second as the roast finishes.

Cupping Scores

Cupping Notes: Raspberry, redcurrant, cooked apple

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

Clean Cup: 7/8
Sweetness: 7/8
Acidity: 6/8
Mouthfeel: 6/8
Flavour: 7/8
Aftertaste: 6/8
Balance: 6/8
Overall: 7/8
Correction: +36
Total: 88/100

If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post "What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?"

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Bolivia: Jeivert Panuni