Mexico Chiapas: El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve

Mexico Chiapas: El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve

Washed ∙ Medium Roast

Sweet with citric acidity, praline, cocoa and molasses flavors.

Grown at 900-1800 Meters Above Sea Level (MASL)

Each month I get the pleasure of choosing a new single origin coffee to purchase and roast for our Origin Select project. While we always carry a standard selection of single origins representing some of our favorite growing regions, this gives us the opportunity to highlight some exceptional beans on a seasonal

Our Origin Select coffee this month comes from the highlands of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico. El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve is one of the world’s most diverse forest reserves. This reserve contains Mesoamerica’s largest continuous cloud forest, and it serves as a refuge to thousands of plant and animal species. El Triunfo is a rare and valuable sanctuary that requires continued protection. All the coffee they produce is shade-grown, and biological corridors are created in order to facilitate bird and animal migration.

 Triunfo Verde Co-op comprises 346 members and is managed by Hugo Lares, with quality control supervision by Calixto Guillén. Calixto is a highly motivated leader and is committed to quality. As is common throughout Central and South America, coffees in Mexico tend to be processed as Washed lots. While the details may vary from place to place, typically the coffee is depulped the same day it's harvested, then given a 12–18-hour fermentation in tanks or buckets before being washed clean of mucilage and dried. Drying typically takes place on patios or in mechanical dryers.

Chiapas is the southernmost region of Mexico. The mountains of this region span into bordering Guatemala and much of this tropical forest is the protected Triunfo Biosphere Reserve. This area is humid and tropical, inhabited by small communities of producers who have formed cooperatives to gain stronger representation in the coffee market. These producers take pride in their land, growing coffee organically through methods passed down from generation to generation.