BOLIVIA ILLIMANI #1861

Red Fox has been working with communities in the Caranavi region to increase access to specialty markets for the region’s smallholder indigenous growers. In the past, these communities have been practically inaccessible due to extreme geography and lack of infrastructure. Production has been low due to coffee tree diseases and changes in the post-harvest entities responsible for processing and export from the region. New roads, and the work of exporters like Red Fox, are bringing coffees from Caranavi back to roasters like us.

The community of Illimani - meaning ”Where the sun rises” in the native tongue of the Aymara - is at the base of the second highest peak in all of Bolivia. The Aymara people still reside in the area and besides coffee, their crops include potatoes, quinoa, plantain, and yucca.

Mile-high elevations, warm days, and cool nights are part of the recipe for such high quality and interesting coffee. The small coffee farms are nestled in among the peaks of the Andes and take up between 1 and 8 hectares of land. Coffee is depulped, washed, and left to dry for 15-20 days on raised beds. We found this coffee to be especially elegant among our South American offerings and are excited for you to experience its illuminating glow.