A friend told Sergio Orantes that coffee is learned in 100 lessons, and each one lasts one year. So far, he has spent more than 30 years learning and he doesn´t seem to be getting tired anytime soon. His farm is in Cerro Brujo, which translates in English as “Sorcerous mountain”, owing to legends that say you can listen to voices and that it holds buried treasures. “La Grandeza” (“The Greatness”) is Mr. Orantes’ largest plot whose name makes allusion not only to its size, but also to the riches that lie under its soil and, perhaps, are made out of coffee.
Entirely shade grown, Mr. Orantes’ coffee grows surrounded by tall and ancient trees whose flowering period in March and April coincides with the harvest. This provides food to native bees and a small alternative business, as well as supporting a diverse ecosystem. Sergio’s coffee is washed after a 24 to 36-hour fermentation in his own wet mill.
Country Of Origin: Mexico
Region: Ocozocoautla, Chiapas
Producer Type: Single Estate
Farm Name: La Grandeza
Processing: Washed
Processing Description: Fermented 34-36 hours, sun dried on patios
Growing Altitude: Greater than 1400 MASL
Plant Species: Arabica
Variety: Costa Rica 95, Marsellesa
History of Coffee in Mexico
With seeds from the Caribbean, cultivation began in Veracruz, where custom house records indicate a few hundred bags of coffee were exported as early as 1802. But these exports were apparently anomalous because after 1805 coffee would not be exported again for twenty years, after the war of independence. Production did increase over this period, presumably for domestic trade and consumption. In 1817, a planter named Don Juan Antonio Gomez started “intensive cultivation” further south, where coffee thrived at high altitudes. By 1826 there were half a million trees in Cordoba and Mexican coffee was being exported. In 1828, seeds—or possibly plants—from Arabia (Yemen) were planted in Uruapan, near the Pacific coast west of Mexico City, by Jose Mariano Michelena. Trees were brought from Guatemala to be planted in the southern state of Chiapas in 1847, and Oaxaca would become the third largest producer of Mexican coffee by 1889.
Growing Coffee in Mexico
Mexican coffee grows in 15 states throughout the southern half of the country but over 90% comes from four states: Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Puebla. Specialty coffee comes from the highlands of Veracruz on the gulf coast, the mountains of Oaxaca and Chiapas at the southern tip of Mexico. In Veracruz coffee grows from 1,100-1,660 m.a.s.l. In Chiapas coffee grows from 1,300-1,700 m.a.s.l. In Oaxaca coffee grows from 900-1,650 m.a.s.l. Coffee is grown by more than half a million farmers, 95% of these being smallholders cultivating less than three hectares and 85% of Mexico’s coffee farmers are indigenous Mexicans. Most Mexican coffee is grown under shade and Mexico is one of the world’s largest producers of certified organic coffee and Fair Trade coffee. Most Mexican coffee is Bourbon, Catura, Maragogype, or Mundo Novo, though other varieties can be found. Mexico grows almost no Robusta.