Paper Plane Coffee Passport

OCTOBER PASSPORT – APOLO, BOLIVIA

TASTING NOTES

CHOCOLATE MALT BALL, TURBINADO SUGAR, THYME FLOWER

ORIGIN

BOLIVIA

REGION

APOLO, LA PAZ

PRODUCER

ASOCIACIÓN DE PRODUCTORES DE CAFÉ DE APOLO (APCA)

VARIETY

TYPICA, RED CATUAI

ALTITUDE

1200–1700 METERS

PROCESS METHOD

WASHED

ABOUT

October’s Passport takes us somewhere we haven’t spent much time before: Bolivia.

This coffee comes from the Asociación de Productores de Café de Apolo, or APCA, a cooperative of smallholder farmers working around the town of Apolo in northwestern Bolivia. It’s an unusual place to grow coffee, sitting right where the eastern slopes of the Andes begin to transition into the Amazon Basin. Cloud forest gives way to tropical rainforest, and coffee farms exist inside one of the most biologically diverse landscapes on the planet.

Many of APCA’s farms sit near the buffer zone of Madidi National Park. Coffee is grown beneath diverse shade canopies, and protecting the surrounding forest isn’t treated as something separate from farming. Healthy forests help protect wildlife, soils, and ultimately the farms themselves.

APCA gives its members access to technical training, quality programs, better wet-processing infrastructure, and specialty markets that would be much harder for individual farmers to reach on their own. Producers have also been working on selective harvesting and more consistent processing, putting greater attention on quality long before the coffee ever reaches a roaster.

This washed lot is made up of Typica and Red Catuai grown between 1,200 and 1,700 meters. After picking, the coffee is sorted, depulped, fermented, and dried at the farm level for roughly two weeks.

In the cup, it leans sweet and comforting: chocolate and caramel up front, a candy-like sugar cane sweetness, and a softer oolong tea character that gives the finish a little more depth. The importer describes it as smooth, sweet, and balanced, which feels right for a coffee that’s interesting without needing to shout about it.

This is exactly the kind of coffee we want Passport to make room for. Bolivia produces a fraction of the coffee of its larger South American neighbors, and Apolo itself sits somewhat apart from the country’s better-known coffee areas. That makes getting to share a coffee from this cooperative feel like a pretty good reason to stamp another page in the Passport.

The Paper Plane Coffee Passport Program

Ever dream of traveling the world, one cup at a time—without dealing with TSA, middle seats, or suspiciously expensive airport coffee? We’ve got you covered.

Each month, our roasters hand-pick an incredible coffee from somewhere in the coffee world, roast it to perfection, and deliver it straight to your door. That’s 12 ounces of adventure, no overstuffed suitcase required.

And to be clear: these coffees aren’t part of our regular lineup. They’re entirely new offerings each month—coffees you won’t find on our shelves or in your usual rotation. Just one-of-a-kind, limited releases picked by our roasting team because they’re special.

Choose Your Own Adventure
You can subscribe for a new coffee every month, or purchase individual bags as you go—perfect for those who want to dip a toe into the journey before going full globetrotter.

💡 Heads up: All the exclusive goodies come with the monthly subscription only—including the passport, stamps, and free shipping. Individual bag purchases are just that: the coffee, without the extras.

What’s in Your Coffee Travel Kit – Subscription Only:

A Fresh Bag of Specialty Coffee – Sourced from incredible farms and roasted with care.

A Coffee Passport Booklet – Your first subscription order includes a custom passport to log your tasting notes, discoveries, and potentially your deepest coffee thoughts.

A Passport Stamp Sticker – Every package comes with a custom stamp from the coffee’s region so you can collect your travels. Way cooler than fridge magnets.

Free Shipping –  Because jet lag is enough to deal with.

Exclusive Discount – Pre-pay for a full year and get 10% off.

Flexible Membership – Pause, skip, or cancel anytime. No guilt, no games.

Your next great cup is waiting. Subscribe to the Coffee Passport and start collecting delicious destinations—or grab a single origin bag and explore at your own pace.

A quick note: we won’t be offering a pre-ground option for Passport coffees.

We know that might be inconvenient for some, and we don’t take that lightly. But this program is built around the idea of exploring coffee at its peak—and that means grinding fresh. These coffees are unique, often delicate, and the flavors that make them special can start to fade quickly once ground. We want you to experience them the way they were meant to be tasted: fresh, vibrant, and full of character.

If you don’t already have a grinder, we’ve got you covered. Here are a few burr grinders we recommend across different price points:

• Baratza Encore – a fantastic all-purpose home grinder

• 1Zpresso JX-Pro – a hand grinder that punches way above its weight

• Fellow Opus – compact, stylish, and great for both espresso and pour over

• Timemore Chestnut C3 – a solid, budget-friendly manual grinder

• Baratza Virtuoso+ – a step up in consistency and grind range

Note: Yearly subscription cancellations will be refunded at a prorated amount, minus a $10 fee for the included passport booklet.