Key origin info:

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

Region: Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca state, Mexico
Altitude: Around 1300 masl

Varietals: Pluma Hidalgo
Process: Washed

Exporter: Red Beetle | Importer: Raw Material

Cup profile: Creamy, honeyed macadamia & ripe pear

Purchase history: 5 years with El Zapoteco, first-time purchase from this particular grower

More about Viridiana & El Zapoteco:

More about Magnolia & 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 single farmer micro-lot is produced by Magnolia Vicente - a member of El Zapoteco community in Santo Domingo Cacalotepec.

As our import partner Raw Material share:

“Magnolia is 30 years old and has been working with coffee for 10 years. Her native language is Zapoteco but she also speaks Spanish. She has three fields in Santo Domingo Cacalotepec; the first is 0.05 Ha at 1250 MASL, the second 0.25 Ha at 1346 MASL, and the third 1 Ha at 1380 MASL. Five years ago she and her husband renewed her fields with the variety Geisha. Together they look after their coffee by clearing the weeds, making terraces and applying organic fertiliser (compost). Coffee is her only source of income and her earnings are spent on the family needs and to pay for workers who pick the coffee during harvest. She usually keeps 20kg of her coffee for the family and plants corn and beans for their own consumption.“

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’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.