To get from one village or town to the next takes hours. It is a steep and very rural area. There are frequent landslides in the wet season. There is very little mobile phone reception and internet. Even if there was good mobile phone reception, many producers do not have a phone. Ricardo lives in the village of San Francisco Ozolotepec. Messages back and forth to each producer can take days, especially if from one village to another – it is world’s apart from the excellent communication channels most of us take for granted nowadays.

Due to the cultural, language and distance barriers, working in the region is complicated. But we’re helping these remote communities to make the most of the land and products. Previously their coffees were bought by buyers who would blend on mass the various different lots, losing many of these great micro lots to large, lower quality blends. We hope that the higher prices received for their great coffees helps to give the producers the opportunity to stay if they desire, rather than feel the need to leave to search for work in other places. This therefore assists in being able to keep their traditions and language alive; something that has disappeared in many countries and communities across the globe. The producers can then retain their private lives as they have done for centuries.

We recommend resting the coffee for 2 weeks, but we understand if you just can’t wait…