Mexico Oaxaca Pack

It truly is an exciting time in coffee. With an increase in offerings from an array of countries new to producing speciality coffee, variation on the cupping table is growing. Mexico, for instance, is one of the top ten producers of coffee in the world, and surprisingly, with an annual production of 4 million bags, they’ve only quite recently expanded their focus to speciality coffee.  

The vast majority of Mexican coffee is grown by small-scale farmers in the southern states of Mexico, Oaxaca and Chiapas. Generally associated with commodity coffee, Mexico’s reputation as purveyors and producers of high-quality speciality coffee still has some way to go. However, with the growth of local coffee culture, training and increased exports over the past twenty years, producers are seeing an upturn in exposure and market prices. 

Showcasing new, unfamiliar or up and coming producers and regions makes an integral part of an interesting global speciality coffee industry. It is, for this reason, we are delighted to present you with the Mexico, Oaxaca Pack. A limited release made up of Efrosina Ruiz of La Reforma’s black honey coffee and a natural lot produced by Honorio Bautista of Cerro Tisne y Santo Tomás.

Both Efrosina and Honoria work with the Manos de Mujer Oaxaqueña project, a program created by fellow coffee producer Enrique Lopes and his Inovacafe organisation. Designed to give coffee-growing women of Oaxaca access to training and exposure to new processing methods and equip them with better tools to build up their farms and processing skills. The results have shown enhanced cup quality, leading to higher earnings, uplifting families and surrounding communities. 

La Reforma:

Efrosina, the owner of La Reforma, a piece of land locally referred to as a parcela, or parcel of land in Santa Catarina grows Pluma Hidalgo, a particular varietal to Oaxaca. Efrosina created this small lot of black honey processed coffee after being introduced to new processing methods by Enrique. Achieved by removing only the skin of the cherry before drying in the sun, the bean is left to slightly ferment while still entirely covered in mucilage. This results in a delightfully dynamic taste profile, a process skillfully mastered and perfected by Efrosina.

Cerro Tisne y Santo Tomás:

Owner of the parcela Cerro Tisne y Santo Tomás, Honoria has had great success with her natural processed coffees. Picking her coffee at the point just before they overripen, she encourages slight fermentation by resting the day’s pickings in plastic bags for a night. The next morning she floats the coffee, a sorting method by which the pickings are submerged in water, causing lighter, lesser quality cherries to float to the top for removal. Once the screening process is complete, the cherries are spread to dry for up to twenty days depending on weather conditions. Honoria carefully monitors, turns and sorts the coffee throughout the process to ensure the clean, fruity, sweet and rich cup profile, she has become known for. 

It is not often that we can offer the same variety of coffee from two different producers, with enough in common for one to measure the nuances between a natural and a honey process. We hope you enjoy the experience!