Introducing our latest coffee from Oaxaca, Mexico. Just like last year's lot, this coffee comes to us from the village of San Francisco but rather than being a community lot, this year's coffee is a single farmer coffee grown by Sebastian Ramos. Sebastian's coffee is very clean and complex with notes reminiscent of Peaches and Cream, Gooseberries and the sweetness of butter toffee.
 
Social Kontext:
 
Just like the last lot from San Francisco, this coffee is sourced through Osito Coffee, who have spent the last few years building solid relationships with small producers in this subregion of the Sierra Sur in Oaxaca. The community faces significant challenges, including an ageing population of mostly indigenous farmers, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s, tending to an ageing population of coffee trees, some 50+ years old, producing small volumes. These trees are never stumped so production is very limited. Issues such as poverty and limited access to agronomic support pose ongoing difficulties. In 2022, when a severe hurricane hit the region, the Osito team was able to raise some financial support for the community to rebuild homes and other facilities. The influence of violence and gang intimidation is another stark reality for many producers, emphasising the need for privacy and security in their operations.
 
Economic Kontext:
 
The journey of this coffee involves the following links in the value chain before it ends up in our roastery: Sebastian Ramos of San Francisco Ozolotepec, the Unión Nacional de Trabajadores Agrícolas de Oaxaca (UNTAO) who take care of dry milling and export and finally Osito Coffee who are the importer of this coffee into the UK from whom we buy this coffee. The coffee is sold as parchment coffee, which is one step before exportable green coffee.
 
Environmental Kontext:
 
The producers in this area employ traditional farming methods, resembling the garden farming practices of East Africa. They cultivate their coffee without the use of fertilisers or pesticides (mainly due to lack of access or financial means of purchase). Coffee leaf rust disease can be a challenge in the region especially if it remains untreated.
High heat conditions and dryness, exacerbated by climate change and phenomena like El Niño, pose significant challenges for these farmers.