Overview
This is a lightly macerated natural coffee from Caranavi, Bolivia, produced by Yulissa Chambi and her family.
The flavor profile is bold, tart, and sweet, with copious blackberry and lime notes and accents of rose and rosemary.
Our roasters found this coffee to be one of those rare, excellent cups that is a challenge for roasters to ruin; though it does get dark a little quickly after first crack.
When brewed, we preferred conical pour-overs with fine grinds and liked the approachability of espresso shots at low doses and quick extractions.
Taste Analysis by Chris Kornman
Sweet and intense, this is a bright and fruity natural coffee with just the whisper of a suggestion that it was processed using a brief carbonic maceration. It is quite clean and has a bounty of acidity and lovely floral flavors accompanying its signature fruitiness.
It’s refreshing to see someone as young as Yulissa Chambi invested in coffee farming and bringing to export such playful and delicious harvests year after year. Some of our most frequent tasting notes include rose, blackberry, and lime. I also get a distinct rosemary and lavender-like finish and there’s a charming, if subtle, balsamic reduction savoriness to the coffee that adds to its complexity.
We’re already queued up to serve this as an espresso in our tasting room, embracing its bold flavors and amplifying them under pressurized extraction. There’s plenty to love about the coffee as a pour-over, as well, particularly at finer grinds and slightly longer brew times, where the balance of sweet ripe fruit notes was accented by more delicate flower and herb flavors.
Source Analysis by Mayra Orellana-Powell
This is Yulissa Chambi’s third season producing coffee, and her third consecutive year on our Crown Jewel menu!
Coffee has been in Bolivia for hundreds of years, but now a new generation of coffee farmers dedicated to producing high-quality coffee are taking the stage in Bolivia. For the first time in the country’s history, green coffee production has funding and support from the federal government, fueling the search for knowledge among dedicated young coffee professionals.
The epicenter in the rise of Bolivian specialty coffee is in the Los Yungas region, where most farms were first established after a wave of migration to the region caused by Bolivia’s Agrarian Revolution in the 1950s. And nearly a century later this lot emerges from a single 10-acre farm belonging to Yulissa Chambi and her family. Yulissa is just 23 years old and working on her university degree but also comes with a family that has been growing coffee in the Yungas region of Bolivia for over 60 years.
Since Bolivia is a landlocked coffee-producing country, farmers need help getting their coffee to the international market. Felix Chambi Garcia through his leadership role at the San Juan cooperative has become an important figure, helping producers with the logistics of moving coffee to the dry-mill where quality and traceability are protected during the preparation for export.
Green Analysis by Chris Kornman
Yulissa Chambi’s coffee has arrived dry and dense in the past, but this natural takes first place in both categories, and you won’t find me complaining about it.
At 8.7% moisture (and a low 0.454 water activity) this is a little below industry norms but in my experience, dry coffees like this tend to have long healthy shelf lives as green coffee and it presents very little risk for the roaster in terms of flavor or longevity. I’ve seen countless articles denounce 9% moisture as “flavorless” or “at risk for loss in quality” and that’s simply not true, all you have to do is pick up a bit of this coffee as a perfect example of an incredible tasting specialty coffee. Low moisture is good for green coffee, and far better than high moisture for quality, shelf stability, and product safety.
Ok, what else, now that I’m off my soap box? Oh, right, density. Holy cow, this coffee is off-the-charts dense. At first sight, I’d be tempted to crank up the roaster to 11 and hold on for dear life, but use a little discretion here: it’s also a macerated natural, and that low MC% is going to (theoretically) makes for less resistance to heat as you approach first crack.
The green coffee is particularly rounded in shape, aromatically fruity, and bears some of the yellowish-red color from processing and drying. It is a 100% Red Catuaí cultivar, a short-stature hybrid, popular amongst farmers for its high-quality potential and the fact that it can be planted densely, improving yields per hectare
Loring S15 Falcon Analysis by Doris Garrido
Yulissa Chambi’s natural coffee is back on the menu again! It was a huge success last year, and as soon as it arrived at the warehouse, we requested samples to feature in our classes.
We found the density of this coffee high which makes it great to roast. Last year, I did a faster roast; however, this time due to some confusion with the Sinar readings, I ended up slowing down the roast a little bit. The results were surprisingly delicious, sometimes it happens.
To roast, I charged it at 438°F and applied 90% power, allowing it to run until the color changed. I noted the color shift at 322°F and began gradually reducing the power. Initially, by 5%, and later by 10%, I closely monitored the roast to make the changes as soon as the coffee wanted to take over. The first crack occurred at 395°F prompting another 5% drop. The development phase proceeded smoothly, and I made my final 5% reduction almost at the end. The roast reached the final temperature of 407°F, with 1 minute and 37 seconds of post-development time.
The cupping results were delightful, with notes of sweet candy, dates, maraschino cherries, hazelnut chocolate, a hint of aromatic rosemary, and a very clean finish. This is Yulissa’s third harvest I got to roast, and her coffee is simply great, I know this coffee will sell fast, so if you can’t get a box, stop by the Crown and taste it as an espresso for the next couple of months.
Aillio Bullet R1 IBTS Analysis by Chris Kornman
I’m making a guest appearance for the next couple of weeks here on the Bullet, and I’ll be using my “500g Quick Roast” as a starting point, which employs a high charge temperature (482F IBTS), a constant D4 drum speed (about 60RPM), and a general trend throughout the roast of decreasing power and increasing fan speed gradually with a target of about an 8 minute roast and roughly 90 seconds of post crack development. You can check out this profile on roast.world here.
The drum speed on this roast inexplicably reverted to D7 for this roast, and the roast prior, and I unfortunately missed this while I was in front of the machine. I did however attempt to manage the heat, striving for a balance of percentages in drying and Maillard stage with a slow, gentle approach into the first crack. I suspected and was correct, that this coffee would brown very quickly at first crack. It was the darkest of my Bullet roasts this week, though not especially dark at 64.39 (whole) / 56.35 (ground).
Doris had already taken this coffee for its first spin in the 15kg Loring, so we cupped the two roasts side by side. I concluded that the Loring roast was much cleaner, but enjoyed the Bullet’s consistency of flavor profile with my notes from earlier in the week on the Ikawa: balsamic reduction, concord grape, plus some fig jam.
Doris’ notes, on the other hand, indicate an appreciation of the tangy character the Bullet roast offered. She noted flavors of ruby red grapefruit and plum.
Given the opportunity to roast again, I’d probably cut the length of development time a little shorter and would back down to D4, where I feel more comfortable controlling the heat using the roaster’s power and fan settings.
Ikawa Pro V3 Analysis by Chris Kornman
Our current Ikawa practice compares two sample roast profiles, originally designed for different densities of green coffee. The two roasts differ slightly in total length, charge temperature, and time spent between color change in first crack. You can learn more about the profiles here.
I was extra excited to put this natural coffee through the paces on our tiny Ikawa roasters to explore the green coffee’s impact on heat and quality. Doris and I cupped the coffee blind, and the results were unsurprisingly delicious.
The LD roast took top spot on my cupping form, with notes of concord grape jam and dark chocolate, but Doris found a soft spot for the HD roast, with a gentler fruity quality like red grape and hibiscus. We both noted the roast’s candy-like sweetness and it reminded Doris specifically of a peppermint candy she cherished. However, she put “favorite” asterisks on both roasts, so unfortunately her vote must be thrown out.
Just kidding. This coffee is one of those rare, excellent cups that is a challenge for roasters to ruin. Feel free to style your roasts a little slower if you like the dense, deep fruit notes, or shade the profile quicker if you like a delicate, sweet cup. Enjoy!
You can roast your own by linking to our profiles in the Ikawa Pro app here:
Roast 1: Low Density Sample Roast
Roast 2: High Density Sample Roast
Brew Analysis by Taylor Brandon
Bolivia’s Yulissa Chambi is one of my favorite producers, as I love to see a young woman of color consistently produce high-quality coffee. This natural Red Catuai is no exception and offers deep bursts of fruit flavor with pleasant citrus and surprising savory notes. This coffee is best brewed using a finer grind and conical brewer like the V60. This combination slows the brew down and allows the coffee and water quality time to mingle for a first-class ticket to flavor town.
My first four brews were completed using the flat-bed Kalita Wave. My first brew achieved a TDS of 1.41 using a grind of 9.5 and a dose of 19 grams of coffee. The brew showcased the bold acidity of Chambi’s coffee and was reminiscent of grapefruit, lime, and tart cherry. This brew was also completed in under three minutes, and I made it my goal to extend the time in search of more complex flavors. I tightened my grind to 8 for the next brew and this extended the total time by approximately 20 seconds. This brew had a more round body and brought forth notes of red apple, rose, and thyme.
For the next brew, I went a bit wild and changed the dose to 18.5 and the grind to 10.5. I took a chance and got a TDS of 1.31. This was not my favorite expression of this natural and I found it to be a tad chalky. However, I came across some earthy and musky notes that struck me with an umami flavor. Trying the coarse grind was cute but this was when I knew the coffee shined at a tighter grind. I changed my grind to 7.5 and brought the dose to 19 where I was reintroduced to soft lemon, lime, and rosemary. At this point, I still wanted to increase my brew time and I moved over to the V60. This is where the magic was! An 8-grind and dose of 18 grams on the V60 increased the brew time to almost four minutes. Lychee, hibiscus, nectarine, and fennel were dazzling in the cup.
Espresso Analysis by Alisha Rajan and Asha Wells
In terms of espresso, Yulissa Chambi’s lightly macerated natural Red Catuai shines yet again! Boasting a range of fruit flavors and gentle umami/herb notes, this third harvest from Bolivia’s Caranavi region is sure to be an espresso drinker’s delight. A slightly lower dose extracted quickly yields a profile showcasing lychee, pomegranate, and pomelo, whereas slightly higher doses at slower extractions bring forth savory and intensely herbaceous elements. At higher doses, there is also a notable yet pleasant amaretto-like bitterness which lends complexity to this otherwise fruit-forward coffee.
The first notable recipe, using a medium grind setting, is a lower dose of 17.5g extracted in 25 seconds with a yield of 36.7g. This extraction was undeniably the fruitiest of the bunch. Strong lychee, pomegranate, and orange peel were rounded out by delicate florals. Leaving the taster with a pleasant, almost minty aftertaste, this iteration felt most approachable for espresso despite its lighter body.
Keeping in line with a low/medium dose, the second recipe started with a dose of 18.0g extracted in 31 seconds with a yield of 37.6g. Despite maintaining the fruitiness of the lychee and pomegranate, this shot is where the herbaceous elements began to shine. Gentle sage and basil mingled with a pleasant amaretto bitterness on the front of the palate.
Clean and never muddled, this Bolivian Red Catuai is remarkable in the distinct clarity of its notes. Wild fruity flavors, no doubt the work of a brief maceration period, are beautifully balanced with the earthiness of herbs and umami elements, a true and satisfying flavor destination. Yulissa Chambi does it again!
