Durham, NC – Counter Culture Coffee has announced the availability of a special new organic coffee from the acclaimed Cenaproc cooperative of Caranavi, Bolivia.  Sold under the Counter Culture Organic brand, the new coffee is Fair Trade certified, organic, and shade-grown.  Available now on www.counterculturecoffee.com, the unique 100% Typica coffee exhibits notes of spice, ripe fruit, and honey above a sweet, vanilla-toned body.

Until recently, Bolivia has not been associated with great coffee.  This began to change when Panama-born Marcos Moreno moved to Bolivia to help grow a fledgling specialty coffee project in the country’s Yungas mountains.  Moreno’s project focused on the lofty goal of creating the highest-quality, most valuable coffees imaginable.

“Marcos recognized optimal coffee-growing conditions in Bolivia,” said Counter Culture Director of Coffee Peter Guiliano, who recently visited the area.  “Since great Typica coffees grow at high altitudes, the Bolivian Andes offer an ideal environment to harness the variety’s deep, delicious characteristics.”

With help from USAID, Moreno led the construction of a coffee mill in the jungles outside the town of Caranavi, where the local Cenaproc co-op receives, sun-dries, and transports locally grown beans through La Paz and on to waiting ships in Peru.

“Cenaproc’s practice of drying the beans before transport has revolutionized Bolivian coffee,” said Giuliano.  “Coffees were previously transported to La Paz in their wet state, which often led to moldy, off-tasting beans.  Drying in Caranavi removes this risk and reveals the beans’ sweet, crisp, delicious, and world-class qualities.  Counter Culture is very proud to offer this remarkable coffee.”

Similar to great Costa Rican coffees of the past, this coffee offers crisp, clean flavors and intense aromatics.  Aromas of almond, citrus and vanilla rise from a brisk and savory cup, making it an ideal breakfast coffee, drinkable and clean.

Founded in 1995, Durham, NC-based Counter Culture Coffee specializing in roasting and wholesaling premium specialty coffees for high-end restaurants, gourmet stores, coffee shops, groceries, and consumers with discerning tastes. Approximately 70% of the company’s coffee is Fair Trade™ certified, organic, or both. Counter Culture Coffee was named ROAST magazine’s Roaster of the Year in November 2004. For more information or to order coffee, visit www.counterculturecoffee.com.