<aside> 🧙🏻♂️ Roaster’s opinion Café excellent en filtre, avec de superbes notes florales et le coté équilibré du cacao
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<aside> 🧑🔬 Calibration
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Once known as Paraje Los Machos, Cafe El Zapoteco has emerged as a prominent name in the world of specialty coffee.
Situated in the serene and picturesque Santo Domingo Cacalotepec, within the Sierra Juarez mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, this cafe stands as a testament to the rich coffee culture of the region.
At altitudes of 1300 to 1700 meters above sea level, the coffee cherries of Cafe El Zapoteco flourish, yielding varieties such as Typica, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon.
Each bean is processed with meticulous care, using the washed method, and packed with precision in GrainPro bags, each weighing 69kg, to ensure the highest quality.
Mexico's economic growth paints a contrasting picture when one gazes upon the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.
These regions, despite their natural splendor and rich cultural heritage, unfortunately rank as the poorest in Mexico. High poverty and extreme poverty rates characterise these areas, presenting a stark contrast to the country's overall economic trajectory.
The past decade has seen a significant decline in coffee production in these regions. Factors like the devastating coffee leaf rust disease and limited access to financial and agricultural resources have led to a dramatic reduction in coffee yields, threatening the very essence of coffee farming here. This crisis has not only impacted the economy but also triggered migration to urban centers and even across borders.
Cafe El Zapoteco has established robust partnerships with various producer groups in Oaxaca. These alliances are crucial in enhancing the profitability and sustainability of coffee production.
The cafe's long-term focus revolves around improving yields, ensuring stable demand, and fair pricing. These efforts are aimed at directly benefiting the most marginalized segments of the coffee-producing community through low-cost and replicable strategies.
One of the cafe's standout initiatives is its approach to pricing. By consistently offering prices above the standard market rate, Cafe El Zapoteco ensures fair and adequate compensation for the hard work of the farmers.
This strategy is not just about economic gain; it's about dignity, respect, and preserving the rich coffee culture of the region.
Under the leadership of Romulo Chavez, Cafe El Zapoteco represents a a family of coffee artisans: a strong, interconnected community of 180 coffee-producing families.
This community, bonded by deep-rooted traditions and a shared love for coffee, is primarily of Zapotec heritage. The cooperative's operations are centered around the town of Santo Domingo Cacalotepec, a name that beautifully blends Spanish and Zapotec elements, meaning ‘mountain of the raven’.