ABOUT GENARO GARCIA MARTINEZ

This is our third year working with the coffees from the remote region of the Sierra Maxateca. Coffee is being produced here unlike anywhere we have ever seen: in full forest, with no use of any synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. In a lot of ways, this ideal coffee production; however, it comes with its own set of complications. Producing enough coffee to make it economically viable for the producers is challenging. Growing coffee in this manner means extremely low production yields, meaning that most families only produce a handful of kilos per year. This is why we've always released these coffees as regional blends named 'Mazateca'. These lots can be as small as 3-5 kilos. This is the first year we've managed to actually get single-producer separations from this region, and we couldn't be more excited about these coffees!

ABOUT TYPICA

Bourbon and Typica compose the most culturally and genetically important groups of coffees in the world. Historical records indicate that seeds were taken from the natural coffee forests of Southwestern Ethiopia to Yemen, where it was cultivated as a crop. Recent genetic tests have confirmed that Bourbon and Typica were the main seeds taken from Ethiopia to Yemen. From Yemen, descendants of Bourbon and Typica spread around the world, forming the basis of modern Arabica coffee cultivation. Typica reached Brazil in the early 1700’s, and quickly spread throughout most of Central and South America. Until the 1940’s, the majority of coffee plantations in Central America were planted with Typica. However, because this variety is both low yielding and highly susceptible to major coffee diseases, it has gradually been replaced across much of the Americas with Bourbon varieties such as Caturra, Catuai, and also hybrids.