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PRODUCER COMMUNITIES: Tenejapa
REGION: Los Altos de Chiapas, Chiapas
PROCESS: Washed
VARIETIES: Bourbon, Costa Rica 95 & Caturra
ALTITUDE: 1300 - 1500 MASL
NOTES: Victoria plum & chocolate marzipan
Plum, milk chocolate and almond come together in this yummy washed lot from Los Altos de Chiapas. Home to Tzeltal and Tzotzil indigenous communities, this area of Mexico is known for its high altitude and traditional farming practices, like cultivating coffee beneath the shade of other trees.
Our importing partners, Ensambles, carry out fieldwork in the region all year round. Their technicians train coffee producers on sustainable farming methods, harvesting techniques and eco-friendly production systems.
FROM OUR IMPORTER - Ensambles
Challenges in Chiapas
Chiapas is the state in Mexico that has the highest poverty rate in the country, with 72.2% of its population living in poverty (28.3% in extreme poverty and 46.1% in moderate poverty). With approximately 13.6% of their population being illiterate, Chiapas holds the leading position in Mexico in terms of educational deprivation. Women face exclusion in land tenure, use, and utilisation, resulting in their segregation in decision-making. Due to the development of agribusiness activities such as livestock farming, monocultures of oil palm and banana the deforestation has increased in some areas in Chiapas. The deforestation has led to a loss of water infiltration capacity, provoking water supply problems in certain regions of Chiapas. Since 2012, coffee plantations at lower elevations have been particularly affected by the impact of rust disease, which is why producers are cultivating more resistant varieties.
Ensambles' work in the region
Families receive a higher income for their coffee. During the 2022-2023 harvest we paid our allied coffee producers up to 38% above local prices. As a result of the promotion of the specialty coffee production, we have connected producers to national and international markets, with full traceability. So that more producers can offer their coffee on the demanding specialty market, we provide producers with training all year long about farm management, nutrition, soil health, pest control, wet milling, and sensory analysis. By running regional laboratories for physical and sensory analysis in coffee producing communities, we seek to bridge the gap between producers and the world of specialty coffee. We are cultivating equality between people from all genders in democratic processes through assemblies. We support the economical emancipation of the indigenous women in the communities in Chiapas. We start the transitioning process towards an organic certification of the producers’ group we work with. In order to contribute to the conservation of ecosystems, all of the coffee producers assisted by Ensambles cultivate their crops under traditional polyculture. In order to contribute to the conservation of ecosystems, all of the coffee producers assisted by Ensambles cultivate their crops under traditional polyculture.
To get the best from your coffee please take a look at our brew guides HERE
ALL PACKAGING IS CARBON NEUTRAL AND WIDELY RECYCLABLE