Vanilla Sky | Bolivia

Bolivia — Los Rodríguez Family Waliki Java (Coco Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍦 Vanilla • 🍒 Sweet Cherries • 🍬 Brown Sugar

DETAILS

• Producer: Los Rodríguez Family
• Farm: Waliki
• Mill: Agricafe Buena Vista
• Region: Caranavi, Bolivia
• Varietal: Java
• Process: Coco Natural
• Size: 250g

INTRO

From the Los Rodríguez family at their Waliki farm in Caranavi — a Java natural processed through Buena Vista's distinctive coco natural method, a drying system specific to their wet mill and unlike anything else in the Bolivian specialty landscape. Sweet, warm, and gently indulgent. In the cup: vanilla, stewed cherries, and brown sugar, with an edge of booze on the finish.

THE PRODUCER

The Los Rodríguez family have become one of DAK's most trusted and enduring producing partnerships in Bolivia — Pearl Drops, the washed Geisha from Finca Alasitas, represents one side of their work; Vanilla Sky, the Java natural from Waliki, represents another. Where the washed Geisha is delicate and floral, this Java natural is warm, sweet, and fruit-forward — two entirely different expressions from the same family, across two different farms and two different varietals.

Bolivia is a specialty origin defined by its altitude, remoteness, and the determination of the producers who farm there. Caranavi — the heart of Bolivian coffee production — sits in the Yungas region where the Andes descend toward the Amazon basin, producing coffees of exceptional sweetness and complexity. The Los Rodríguez family's partnership with Agricafe, one of Bolivia's most respected mill and export operations, gives their lots the infrastructure and precision needed to express that potential fully.

Java is an Arabica variety associated with Ethiopian landrace genetics, named for the island of Java where it was cultivated extensively during the Dutch colonial era. In Bolivia, it provides a clean, structured base that the coco natural drying method builds on beautifully — amplifying its inherent sweetness and body into something warm, rich, and deeply enjoyable.

THE PROCESS

The Coco Natural process at Buena Vista involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Java cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 💧 Washing — Cherries washed before drying begins ☀️ Patio pre-drying — Laid out on open patios for 48–72 hours to begin moisture loss 📦 Stationary box drying — Transferred to Buena Vista's stationary box dryers — a setup specific to the Agricafe wet mill — and dried until moisture content reaches a stable 11.5%

The stationary box drying is the defining step — a setup particular to Buena Vista's mill that creates a distinctive, controlled drying environment unlike conventional raised-bed or patio methods. By moving the cherries from open patio into the enclosed box dryers mid-process, the team achieve a precisely managed finish that builds the vanilla warmth, stewed cherry sweetness, and brown sugar depth that define this lot, with that characteristic edge of booze in the close.

THE CUP

A sweet, warm, and gently indulgent coco natural Java from one of Bolivia's most trusted family farms — vanilla richness, stewed cherry sweetness, and brown sugar depth, with a boozy edge on the finish that makes every sip feel like a small celebration. The Los Rodríguez family at Waliki, doing something entirely their own.

Flavour Notes

🍦 Vanilla 🍒 Sweet Cherries 🍬 Brown Sugar