Mexico - Sierra Mágica (2025)

This coffee comes from Grupo Puhuac, a group of small-scale coffee producers in Zapotitlán de Méndez, Puebla. The region is known for its many pueblos mágicos, towns officially recognized by the Mexican government for their cultural significance and indigenous heritage.

The municipality of Zapotitlán de Méndez straddles the Zempoala River. North of the river its residents are largely of Totonaca ancestry and south of the river its residents are largely Nahuatl. This lot comes from farmers who are primarily Totonaca and still adhere to traditional language, customs, and attire.

The farms here tend to be small, at 1-3 hectares on average, and very well shaded, primarily by fruit trees like chalahuite and equimit. Common coffee varieties include high quality traditional cultivars like bourbon, caturra, and typica as well as garnica, a hybrid of mundo novo and caturra developed in the early 1960s. Most farms are between 1,100 and 1,400 meters, but despite the far northern latitude, coffee can grow as high as 1,800 meters, resulting in a slow and later ripening.

Processing here is fairly typical for the broader region, beginning with a fermentation stage of 24-48 hours in wooden tanks and followed by a 4-10 day period of sun-drying on patios.

Historically coffees from Zapotitlán de Méndez have been trucked to the neighboring state of Veracruz where they would command a better premium due to its better name recognition. Today, Puebla's coffee has begun to earn the recognition it deserves for both the quality and the sustainability of its coffee farms. We've partnered with Red Fox Coffee Merchants in sourcing this coffee and we're excited to further explore Mexico as one of our newest areas of focus.