El Zapoteco, Mexico

Description:

Tasting notes:

Plum, Brown Sugar and Rum

Coffee info:

• Producer: Various smallholder farms
• Location: Santo Domingo Cacalotepec, Sierra Juarez, Mexico
• Elevation: 1,300 to 1700 masl
• Variety: Typica, Mundo Novo
• Process: Washed

More info about this coffee:

Some 180 Smallholder Farms make up Cafe el Zapoteco, led by Romulo Chavez.
Spread across three neighbouring towns in the Sierra Juarez, with the central point of the Cafe el Zapoteco cooperative located in the town of Santo Domingo Cacalotepec. This name, made up of both Spanish and Zapotec, translates to Mountain of the Raven.

Rather than employing pickers during harvest, when a member's coffee is ready to be picked, several neighbours will assist in collecting the coffee. Instead of payment, the farm owner will cook lunch in thanks to their neighbour's generous efforts, and in turn, will help those that assisted them during their time for harvest. 

These washed coffees are often de-pulped the day after harvesting and are left to ferment for 12 to 36 hours. Then dried on petates, traditional woven mats, and atop rooftops directly under the sun, and thanks to the cool air, high humidity and misty afternoons, this drying process is slow and gentle, leading to great end flavour.

Farm sizes range from 0.5 to 5 hectares with the average member owning less than a hectare of coffee trees, producing between 100 to 150 kilos of parchment beans per year.

Raw Material, the importer of this coffee has supported the people of Cafe el Zapoteco, by introducing programs to build a new cupping lab to support increased quality control equipped with new micro hullers and sample roasters. Thus increasing the financial sustainability within the group.