Mexican FT Org. Chiapas – CESMACH Cooperative – Washed Processed

Description

A fresh & tasty Mexican arrival certified FT Org.

Chiapas is extremely close to the Guatemala border and Huehuetenango but produces a pretty different cup profile. Nutty, sweet, floral with some chocolaty notes popping out.

Working with the cooperatives, creating in a quality-control program. An assessment was made in different areas that impact cup quality such as: varieties, fertilization, picking, processing, and lot selection. They were already doing a great job but there are some areas that could use some tweaking. The cooperatives were extremely excited to be part of this program. The plan is to have a certified Q Grader from each cooperative and have a centralized cupping lab to aid in lot selection in order to increase the overall quality of the coffee they are producing and give feedback to the producers on their quality.

CESMACH has nearly 500 active members and has been managed by Sixto Bonilla for the duration of our relationship so far. Sixto is very quality-focused and driven to empower his cooperative community with the tools and resources to produce better quality. We have collaborated with Sixto on several projects, and look forward to working closely with him in the future as well.

The farms of within CESMACH are located in the buffer zone of El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, which is in the highlands of the Sierra Madre. it is one of the most diverse forest reserve areas in the world and contains Mesoamerica’s largest cloud forest, as well as a protected natural environment for thousands of plant and animal species. All of the coffee produced here is shade-grown.

Tasting Notes:
A great daily drinker! Lovely cup from light to dark roasts; a nice solid medium roast was our favorite. Sweet nutty, caramel and toffee like tones at the light to medium roast points, a bit more chocolaty/nutty at the darker roast points.

Lighter Roasting:
Lemony crispness upfront, slightly floral, medium bodied pushing into a fuller bodied cup at darker roasts. Hints of a soft fruit tone as the cup cools.

Darker Roasting:
Big bodied, semi-sweet and very chocolaty with some nuttier accents. Still a very smooth cup up until French Roast (decently into 2nd crack). Picks up some complimenting roasty/smoky notes as one approaches 2nd crack.

Roasting Notes: An easy coffee to roast. Medium chaff, nice screen and even roasting. A little longer setup helps smooth out a bit of acidity if you roast it a bit too light for your preference.