Interested in Adopting a Coffee Tree?

Posted on: 2015-02-20 12:00 AM

For many people, the idea of getting coffee from their own coffee tree is a wild fantasy. But for customers at one student’s new online business, it’s a reality.

At Apasionado Coffee, customers adopt a tree on the coffee farm and get specialty coffee straight from the adopted tree to their cups, said Emily Lilo, an associate scientist at the UNM Prevention Research Center and co-founder of Apasionado Coffee.

The venture is one-of-a-kind and, Lilo said, completely sustainable – for every tree people adopt, farmers plant a second one to support conservation and reforestation of the cloud forests of Bolivia.
“We are not a coffee shop. We skip the coffee shop and bring the coffee straight from our farm to your door,” she said. “Only members can get this coffee. It is exclusive access. Once you have adopted a tree you can order as much coffee as you want when you want it, roasted to your taste and brewing preferences.”

Apasionado Coffee’s farm is located in the Yungas region of Bolivia, just outside of the town of Coroico, according to ApasionadoCoffee.com.
“Since we don’t have shops, but sell online, our coffee can go anywhere in the world. We currently have adoptees from the U.S. to Europe to Singapore,” Lilo said.
The area of Bolivia where Apasionado Coffee farm is located is surrounded by a forest that is being clear-cut for the production of coca, used to make cocaine, she said.

“This coca production is terrible for the land, since they slash and burn the land to grow it, and the coca plants themselves sap the soil of minerals and nutrients, making the land usable for only one to three years, after which, the coca farmers move on to clear another section,” she said.
Apasionado Coffee farms use multicultural farming techniques to support a diverse ecosystem and protect all living things, including the amazing green parrots that call the farm home, Lilo said.

“We also offer much more steady work for our farming community, paying wages that compete with the coca growers — much higher than traditional coffee wages — and we keep more of the money in the country of origin since we grow and roast the coffee in Bolivia,” she said.
Lilo and her partners have cut out all the middle steps coffee usually goes through before arriving at local shops, she said.

“This also provides an opportunity for a reciprocal knowledge exchange process with the local farm hands who help us, because they also own small plots. We are showing them another way to do coffee, to make it sustainable and profitable, and provide a viable alternative to coca,” she said.
Apasionado Coffee is also working closely with the Melting Pot Foundation in Bolivia to help increase Bolivia’s profile on the world stage as a culinary and coffee destination, Lilo said.

The Melting Pot Foundation, with their restaurant, Gustu, works with underserved youth in Bolivia, helping them develop a career in the high-end food industry, according to the Melting Pot Foundation’s website.

Coffee Review has given Apasionado Coffee a score of 92 out of 100 for its 2014 harvest.
Lilo and her family’s mission is to produce high-end specialty coffee benefiting the land and people of Bolivia, she said.
“Most importantly, we offer our members an insider’s look into how very high quality specialty coffee is produced, and people can even go and stay on the farm and visit their trees or volunteer,” she said.