MEXICO SAN PEDRO SOCHIAPAM #1797

Oaxaca, Mexico is quickly establishing a reputation for more than its incredible cuisine and natural beauty, but also for its specialty coffee production. We are absolutely loving the coffee we’re tasting from this region. This particular lot is from local producers in San Pedro Sochiapam, a small town located in the mountainous region north of Oaxaca. Like many communities in Oaxaca, San Pedro Sochiapam has a strong remaining presence of the Zapotec culture—an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca at least 2,500 years ago. The Zapotec people have a unique language, which is still spoken by many of the local residents alongside Spanish to this day. Around 115 locals contribute to the coffee production of this town alongside other crops like corn, beans, and various fruits.

Like many smallholders we work with, these farms are not fields of rows cultivated by tractors, but instead grown on the side of mountains under the cover of trees. In these environments everything is done by hand including harvesting. Ripe cherries are hand picked, depulped on the following day, and left to ferment overnight. They then go through a process called floating where the beans are placed in water and anything that floats is removed, leaving only the cherries of the highest density. Once fully washed, the beans are left to dry on roofs or sun patio until they are ready for export.