Shoebox Coffee Roasters - Yulissa Chambi Red Catuai Washed(2026) | Bolivia

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Bolivia — Yulissa Chambi Red Catuai (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍎 Fried Apples • 🍬 Marzipan • 🍵 Black Tea

DETAILS

• Producer: Yulissa Chambi
• Region: Yunga, Caranavi, La Paz, Bolivia
• Varietal: Red Catuai
• Process: Washed
• Harvest: 2026

INTRO

From Yulissa Chambi's revived family farm in the Yunga mountains of Caranavi — a washed Red Catuai of exceptional sweetness and charm from Bolivia's 2024 Aeropress champion. Stupidly sweet malic fruit up front, warming into the comfort of fried apples, marzipan, and a clean black tea finish. In the cup: fried apples, marzipan, and black tea.

THE PRODUCER

The story of Yulissa's farm begins in the 1980s, when her family purchased 20 hectares of land in Yunga, within the mountains surrounding Caranavi. Initially planting just four hectares of coffee as a retreat from city life, the farm fell into disrepair when Bolivian government subsidies for coffee growing were withdrawn and production became economically unviable — the trees losing their yield and being gradually reclaimed by the surrounding forest.

In 2019, Yulissa decided to revive what her family had built, replanting the original four hectares with Red Catuai and adding another three hectares shortly after. Her deep passion for the coffee supply chain has taken her further and further into the specialty world, eventually culminating in winning the 2024 Aeropress Championship in Bolivia — a title that reflects the seriousness and skill she brings to every stage of the process. Her name in Bolivia's specialty scene carries significant weight, with most of each harvest immediately claimed by local buyers.

Red Catuai, a compact and productive cross of Mundo Novo and Caturra, is well established across South America for its reliability and its ability to deliver clean, sweet cup profiles under classical washed processing — exactly what Yulissa demonstrates here.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Yulissa's farm involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Red Catuai cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 💧 Flotation — Floated to remove defects before processing 🔧 Depulping — Fully depulped before fermentation 🧪 Wet fermentation — Fermented for 20 hours in clean tanks 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed to remove all remaining mucilage ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried in parchment on raised beds for 20 days

The classical 20-hour wet fermentation is the defining step — a clean, controlled process that develops the natural malic sweetness and structured complexity of the Red Catuai without overworking it, while the 20-day raised-bed drying ensures a consistent, even result that preserves the brightness and charm that define this lot.

THE CUP

A beautifully sweet and deeply charming washed Red Catuai from Bolivia's most celebrated specialty producer — pear and apple malic sweetness up front, warming as it cools into a cooked fruit richness of fried apples, with a gentle marzipan warmth and a clean black tea finish. A compelling chapter in the revival of a family farm and a national specialty origin.

Flavour Notes

🍎 Fried Apples 🍬 Marzipan 🍵 Black Tea