Here's what Raw Materials the importer of this coffee have to say about it:

In Mexico, our work is based in Oaxaca and Chiapas. From afar, Mexico is a growing economic force, ranked 64th globally in GDP per capita. However, the coffee-producing states in southern Mexico face a very different economic reality. Oaxaca and Chiapas are the two poorest states in Mexico with poverty rates of 60-80% and extreme poverty rates of 20-40%

Production yields have become dangerously low in these regions. Over the last ten years coffee leaf rust disease and the lack of financial or agricultural means to tackle it has reduced production by up to 90% in some regions. The average yield in Oaxaca is now just 100kg of parchment per hectare. For context, in Colombia, the average yield is 2,400kg per hectare. 

The vast majority of Mexico’s 500,000 coffee producers are smallholder farmers and have one hectare or less of land under coffee. This makes the average annual production for many producers just 100kg, making coffee farming more and more unsustainable. This is fuelling widespread migration to urban centres in Mexico and the United States. In short, coffee production is disappearing.

We work with several producer groups in Oaxaca

These partnerships help improve the overall profitability and viability of coffee production for producers in Oaxaca. Our long term focus is on improving yields and building stable demand at a stable price by connecting roasters with producers. We aim to achieve this in ways that are low-cost, easily replicated, and that ensure the first-order upsides are captured directly by those most marginalised.

 To achieve these goals we've focused first on building trust and setting a baseline for coffee pricing and pre-financing. Currently, the most common outlet for producers in Oaxaca is to sell their parchment to local intermediaries at a market-set price.

We aim to consistently pay upwards of this standard market price as a first payment.

Following this is a second, quality-based price that increases total profit earned per kg by between 7 and 10 times. This has been self-identified as the most impactful role we can play in the short term. Paying in this way provides rapid, predictable returns on investment made by producers and can increase household income from coffee by up to 10x the average income derived from selling at the local market price. 

Cafe El Zapoteco is a group of some 180 coffee producing families led by Romulo Chavez in the Sierra Juárez. It is quite informally organised, but its community bonds run deep. There is a huge potential for quality here and working closely with Romulo we aim to build a significant relationship with Cafe El Zapoteco and like-minded roasters. Washed coffees often depulped one day after harvest then ferment for between 12 to 36 hours. They are then dried on rooftops under direct sun. Though sun-dried the drying is fairly slow due to the cool air, high humidity and misty afternoons in the region.

• Despatched next working day
• We use recyclable & CO2 neutral packaging
• Roasted fresh every working day
• Free next day shipping when you spend over £35
• Free two day shipping when you spend over £25