Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and Agricafe have announced 24 winners for the first Los Rodriguez Bolivia Private Collection Auction, including three new auction categories.
The three auction categories that will be introduced for this auction only include an exotic category and two gesha categories. One will be exclusively natural processed geshas, and the second category will consist of honey and washed processed geshas. The exotic category will consist of non-gesha varieties.
There were 10 winners selected for the exotic category, with features varieties including SL28, SL 34, Biatan, Java, Pacamara and three coffees scoring over 90 points. There were eight winners selected for the natural gesha category including three coffees scoring over 90 points. The honey and washed gesha category features six winners including three coffees scoring over 90 points. The highest score in the competition was 91.91 points.
This is ACE’s first time back in Bolivia since the last Cup of Excellence was held in 2009 where 24 lots were auctioned.
Bordering Peru and Brazil, big coffee-producing countries, Bolivia as a coffee origin is less known and less accessible globally. In recent years only around 20,000 bags of coffee are exported each year compared to the millions of bags exported by Bolivia’s neighbours.
“I had little exposure to Bolivia as a coffee origin but through this auction experienced the full spectrum of colours, flavours, and attributes that Bolivia coffee offers – both in Caranavi and Samaipata,” International Jurists Jiyoon Han of the New York-based Bean & Bean Coffee.
“There were beautiful geshas and SLs but also exceptional Caturras and Catuais hitting Bolivia’s unique terroir. The commitment to tradition and pursuit of innovation on the Los Rodriguez farm is evident through the coffees featured on the family’s 2022 collection.”
From 21 to 25 November the first Los Rodriguez Collection International Jury led by Head Judge Eduardo Ambrocio was held in Caranavi, Bolivia. Over 100 lots entered the preselection phase, and 40 qualified for International Jury week.
Twenty-four micro lots with sizes between 10 and 90 kilograms lots were selected to go to the auction. This historical auction will open on 19 January 2023. ACE is offering sample sets of the winning coffees until 30 December to purchase before the auction. The sample sets are offered without the requirement of ACE membership. Additionally, ACE is also forming buying groups for the auction.
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