Feature Filter: Viridiana - micro from El Zapoteco | Mexico

Key origin info:

Producer: Viridiana - a member of El Zapotec community in Santo Domingo Cacalotepec in Sierra Juarez

Region: Oaxaca state, Mexico
Altitude: 1300 - 1700 masl

Varietals: Mundo Novo, Typica & Bourbon
Process: Washed

Exporter: Red Beetle | Importer: Raw Material

Cup profile: Creamy, almond fudge

Length of buying relationship: 4 years with El Zapoteco, first time microlot purchase

More about Viridiana & El Zapoteco:

This coffee has been sourced with the help of our importing partner Raw Material and Red Beetle Coffee Lab exporter whose work in Mexico focuses on improving the overall profitability of coffee production in Oaxaca and Chiapas by increasing yields, improving quality and building a stable demand and access to speciality coffee markets.

This microlot is a single producer lot selection grown, harvested and processed by Viridiana - a member of El Zapoteco community in Santo Domingo Cacalotepec.

Cafe El Zapoteco is an association of some 180 coffee producing families in the Sierra Juárez ares led by Romulo Chavez and now also his son Alejandro. As the RM team explains, most members of the association are of Zapotec heritage and speak Spanish as second language after Zapoteco. There is a very strong, communal aspect to El Zapoteco across its three towns that is deeply rooted in the historical ties of the community to the region. 

The aim of selecting microlots such as this one is to maximise the value growers can earn from high premiums for best quality lots with Alejandro’s skills in tasting and quality control being instrumental in the process. The Zapotec community is very tightly knit and work the land together using organic farming practices, often also helping each other out with picking during harvest.

The average farm size is less than one hectare of coffee and produces between 100 and 150 kilos of parchment per year. Rather than employ pickers during the harvest, when a member’s coffee is ready to be picked, several neighbours will help the producer to harvest their coffee and they then return the favour later. The coffees are pulped and fermented, often in hand built, wooden tanks, then dried on 'petates' - traditional woven mats.

Romulo has been working together with Thomas and Shaun of Red Beetle exporters for several years now to not only produce high quality coffees for export but also to establish direct relationships with buyers in order to obtain higher prices for the producers of El Zapoteco whilst fostering a strong sense of community for the association and its producers. There is a huge potential for quality in the region and by working closely with Romulo the RM team aims to build upon Romulo's work and establish lasting relationships between the group and like-minded roasters.

Recently, Alejandro (Romulo’s son) also had the opportunity to travel to Colombia and spent time at Raw Material’s community wet mill El Fenix. During his trip he was able to learn many things and gain a new perspective and ideas around coffee production which he was excited to apply at his farm in Mexico and share with local producers. You can read more about his experience in this interview conducted by the team at Raw Material.

About Raw Material - our importing partner:

Raw Material are a community interest company green coffee importer operating in the UK, EU and Australia. The work of Raw Material is centred around the vision of “speciality coffee as a solution”. A solution to sustainably improve the livelihoods of the many small-holder producers who have been historically marginalised and not receiving adequate value for their produce and contribution in the supply stream.

As RM explain:

Often the price farmers receive is lower than their cost of production. This situation leads to cycles of debt and disadvantage that compounds over generations.

The choices of the specialty coffee industry have an outsized ability to influence positive outcomes for producers and the wider environment. The value of the specialty coffee market continues to accelerate with a projected compound annual growth rate of 11-12% across the next 5 years. Total market value was estimated to be 35 billion USD in 2018 and is expected to grow to over 80 billion USD by 2025.

This is an exciting opportunity for development through trade. This is one of the few crises in the world for which the solution is direct and self-sustaining: with the appropriate investments and continued effort, the growing demand for high-quality coffee can be fulfilled by historically marginalised groups to great long-term effect.

To change the world, we need a powerful strategy. This requires that we make tough choices not just about what we will do but also what we will not do. We don’t search for the best coffee. We search for the right communities and work with them to build systems to produce high-quality coffee and connect to a stable marketplace. When the solution is well designed and community-led, results can be achieved very quickly.

Raw Material currently focus on working with producers in Colombia, Mexico, Rwanda & Timor Leste and they are our supply partner for Mexico and now also Rwanda.

You can find out more about their vision, impact and methods here.

About Raw Material’s work in Mexico:

Oaxaca is the main geographical area of RM's work in Mexico as there is little support or formal coffee infrastructure in Oaxaca. Farms are isolated and widespread and because of this Oaxacan production yields are some of the lowest in Mexico. The main areas of focus are improving production yields by training, building demonstrative fields, and improving soil health while raising coffee quality, and building stable demand and access to speciality market by connecting roasters with producers. 

To achieve these goals, in 2020 RM focused on meeting producers, building trust and setting a baseline for coffee pricing and pre-financing. This is done by paying a base price at the market level upon reception of the coffee, followed by second payment based on cup quality bringing the final price to 1.5 -2 times of the standard market rate. This is expected to increase to up to 5 times the standard price for some lots as overall quality improves. Paying in this way provides rapid, predictable returns on investment made by producers. 

In future, RM are also planning to work with the Oaxacan associations to develop more communal infrastructure (e.g. centralised composting systems), expand their operation in Chiapas region as well as identify potential projects for roasters to support directly.