The Mixtec are the pre-colonial, indigenous people of Oaxaca. The Mixteca region makes up about half of the state of Oaxaca, as well as portions of the neighboring states of Puebla and Guerrero. Like much of Mexico, Mixteca is full of rural life and agricultural heritage. This bright and complex coffee comes from the municipality of Santa María Yucuhiti. It was grown and harvested by members of Yukukafe, an indigenous community of the Mixtec culture who live on the rainy side of the Sierra Norte, the tallest mountain in Oaxaca. Grown between 1,500-1,800 masl, the members of Yukukafe are growing coffee at some of the highest elevations in all of Oaxaca.
Although not certified, coffees from Mixteca are generally grown organically, and under an abundance of shade trees. With the addition of quality heirloom varieties, like bourbon and typica, and meticulous processing – you get a pretty unique coffee, in comparison to much of Mexico. This coffee was processed traditionally and a washed coffee; cherry was hand selected from the tree at its peak ripeness, de-pulped and set to ferment for a period of 36 hours. The beans are then washed with clean water and put out on raised beds where they will dry for 8-10 days.
