Samaipata, which means ‘Rest in the Heights’, is a small picturesque town located in the valleys at the
base of the Bolivian Andes, 120 km from the city of Santa Cruz.
When you drive through Samaipata, you can access the Amboró National Park, which is characterized by its humid forests, its waterfalls and various birds. All these characteristics make this national park one of the regions with the greatest diversity and extraordinary biological richness.
To the east of the city of Samaipata, there are the ruins of the ancient ceremonial site of El Fuerte de Samaipata. Finca El Fuerte, which is named after the Fort of Samaipata, was the first of the four farms the Rodriguez family planted in Samaipata. The fort is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site, unique in that it represents the legacies of Inca, Spanish and Chanè cultures and is one of Samaipata’s main attractions.
The El Fuerte farm was a first experiment in developing coffee in the region with excellent characteristics for producing high quality coffee (good soil conditions and high altitude), but traditionally little coffee production and no specialty coffee.
After consulting with a specialized agronomist, the region of Agua Rica at the edge of the Amboró National Park, some 20km east of Samaipata, was chosen as the ideal location.
Initially, several different varieties were tried, including Red Bourbon, and Yellow and Red Caturra, geisha and java. Although there is little need for trees for shade as the altitude keeps the temperature down, trees were planted to protect the trees from the strong winds that are common in the region.
Deciding to go ahead and plant coffee at El Fuerte was something of a risk, but it’s one that undoubtedly has paid off.
The location has proved to be strategic and the weather is ideal, a second wet mill was soon established at the site. Now, all the coffee produced in the Samaipata farms is processed at El Fuerte.
Samaipata is a unique place known for producing varieties of wines and now specialty coffees. It has a fairly extreme climate, as during the day the temperature is 25-30°C and at night it drops to 8-10°C. This makes the ripening process of the cherries slow down, and the sugars of the fruit are concentrated in the grain. The harvest on this farm lasts 6 months from June to December.
