This is a combined lot from the gardens of a group of female producers in the mountains of Yoloxochitlán, whose yields aren't independently large enough to mill and export as micro lots. In the cup we find a sweetness-forward profile of dark chocolate, citrus acidity, and strawberry.
Typica, Bourbon
San Mateo, Yoloxochitlán, Sierra Mazateca
1,800 masl
April, 2023
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. Depulped. Dry fermented for 36 hours. Washed. Dried in parabolic dryers for 16 days.
Mazateca Mujeres is a cool project aggregating exclusively female-producer lots from Oaxaca's Sierra Mazateca mountains. Producing coffee is often a family affair, but, more often than not, men get the credit even when the labor is shared. Women are estimated to be involved in as much as 70% of the world's coffee production, and about 25% of all coffee farms are female-run. Mazateca Mujeres is an attempt to shine more light on those efforts!
Typica and Bourbon compose the most culturally and genetically important groups of coffee in the world. Both are low yielding, have excellent cup quality potential, and are very susceptible to most diseases. Historical records indicate that seeds were taken to Yemen from the natural coffee forests of southwest Ethiopia to be cultivated as a crop. Recent genetic tests have confirmed that Typica and Bourbon were the main seeds taken from Ethiopia to Yemen. From Yemen, descendants of Typica and Bourbon spread around the world, forming the basis of modern Arabica coffee cultivation.
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.