We are delighted to release our first fresh crop Mexican coffee of the year, and our first ever coffee from the region of Oaxaca! This is our first time buying from Rubén Cervantes, and his first time producing a natural coffee. We think he did a brilliant job, and this is a delicious little microlot that has that 'chocolate, but the best chocolate you've ever had in your life' kind of profile. We 100% recommend this as a special purchase for the "coffee-flavoured coffee" person in your life. It will taste like an exotic cup of hot chocolate rather than a scary 'specialty' coffee. Truly exceptional, and we're thrilled to have it and look forward to working with Rubén for years to come.
There are a lot of firsts on this coffee, but what isn't a first is the exporter/importer who handled this relationship for us. Ensambles is still our exclusive Mexican coffee supplier for the last 3 seasons, and the relationship is only growing stronger with time. Here's some more copy from them on Rubén's farm below:
In the locality of Loma Alta, in Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, are the farms El Lodo and El Derrumbe. These places, surrounded by a cloud forest, lush vegetation, and the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur, are the production centres for the Rubén Cervantes coffee. Rubén Cervantes is a third-generation indigenous Mazatec producer and the soul of this exceptional coffee. From the age of 18, he began to get involved in coffee cultivation, helping his father with cherry picking and other fieldwork. Over time, he discovered in coffee not just a vocation, but also an opportunity to undertake and build his own legacy. Together with his wife, Rosa Rubio, and their children, Citlali and Cristián, Rubén has managed to consolidate an operation that goes beyond coffee farming.
On his estate, diversification is important: besides growing coffee, he also does beekeeping, masonry, and grows different foods. Cervantes lives in a mountainous area, at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,400 masl, where he cultivates traditional varieties such as Typica, Caturra, Bourbon, and Mundo Novo. He is also introducing the Oro Azteca variety, which tends to be more resistant to leaf rust. The farms, both covering one hectare, look like small jungles where coffee plants grow in a traditional polyculture system, known as traditional rustic or ´mountain´, which involves minimal intervention in the ecosystem.
This method enables coffee plants to grow alongside timber trees, legumes like cuajinicuil, and fruit trees like banana and citrus. These trees provide multiple layers of shade to the coffee plantations, protecting them from adverse weather conditions. On the farm, they also promote growing milpa, an ancient system that mainly includes corn, beans, and squash. After years of producing washed coffees, Rubén decided last year to experiment with the natural processing method. This decision has brought numerous benefits to his business, including more efficient water use, better prices, and higher-quality beans. This year, we are enjoying the first harvests of his naturally processed coffees, and we hope you will be inspired to try them too!
