SIPRO - Mexico

Produced by:

SIPRO stands for Sierra Productora de Cafe. The association is brand new, and is the brainchild and combined effort of 9 mostly young coffee producers in Amatenango de la Frontera. The small association also represents 20 other producers, who are family members of the core 9 producers.

Amatenango is directly across the border from the Guatemalan region, Huehuetenango; sharing its terroir with one of the most famous regions in the world for impeccable coffee quality. The group decided to work together as an organised cooperative, to have more strength within the market, with better access to specialty buyers. Although cooperatives and associations can represent the interests of many producers, when they are too large they may be less effective, as every decision requires the approval of all, which may be less dynamic.

Amatenango de la Frontera, Chiapas, Mexico

Chiapas is Mexico’s poorest state. It also has the largest indigenous population and is the country’s biggest producer of coffee. The average yield is higher here than in Oaxaca, but the local market price is lower.

The vast majority of Mexico’s 500,000 coffee producers are smallholder farmers and have one hectare or less of land under coffee. This makes the average annual production for many producers just 100kg, making coffee farming more and more unsustainable. This is fuelling widespread migration to urban centres in Mexico and the United States. In short, coffee production is disappearing.

Washed

Red cherries are picked and freshly sorted before pulping where over-ripe and under-ripe beans are handpicked and separated before processing. Coffees are pulped and allowed to ferment for 36-48 hours.

The fermented coffee is washed with clean running water, soaked in clean water and then dried for 18 days to retain about 11.5% of moisture. Dried parchment coffee is stored in field warehouse until it is transported for further processing to Addis Ababa. The parchment coffee is processed in dry processing warehouse to remove the husks and the clean beans are packaged in bags for export.