Finca El Arcangel

Finca El Arcangel is one of the farms owned by the Rodríguez family. Pedro Rodríguez established Agricafe to help process and improve coffee in Bolivia and to get that coffee to the specialty market. El Arcangel is part of the Fincas Rodríguez project where farms are planted and managed according to the latest agronomic practices. These farms are used as teaching aids where other farmers can visit and learn about coffee agronomy and harvesting techniques. El Arcangel was planted with Red Caturra and Yellow Caturra in 2015, which have both adapted well to the local environment and climate. In the last few years, the family have been pruning the coffee trees using an adaptation of the esqueleto (skeleton) method. The trees are pruned to a height of 1.6 to 1.8 meters, and the lateral branches are reduced to 10 to 15 centimetres. This takes the trees down to their bare bones, hence the name. It is a ruthless method but pays dividends in later years. The tree is left with no production for a year while the new branches develop. Coffee fruits on new-growth branches and with this method the production can double. We had the pleasure of welcoming Pedro and Daniela to our roastery in 2024 which was a wonderful opportunity to taste their coffees and for the whole team to hear from them first-hand about their history and the work they do. Please see the August 2024 newsletter for more information and visit Agricafe to learn more about their story and their projects.