Oaxacan Coffee and COVID-19

Mexico is one of the most culturally and biologically diverse countries in the world, especially in its southern territories below the Tropic of Cancer. Chiapas, Veracruz, and Oaxaca have the largest number of priority regions for biocultural conservation in Mexico and are home to most of the country’s indigenous population. These states have the country’s best-preserved forests, traditional farming systems that maintain genetic variety, and an agrobiodiversity and cultural diversity that overlaps with the social ownership of the land.

The trio of Chiapas, Veracruz, and Oaxaca account for roughly 75% of Mexico’s coffee production. Mexico is one of the ten largest coffee producers in the world today, and a considerable part of this coffee production is done applying ecological cultivation techniques, that is, rejecting the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides and respecting natural processes while preserving the biodiversity of agroecosystems without altering natural cycles and rhythms.

At the end of the twentieth century, Mexico became the world’s main producer and exporter of organic coffee, and the state of Oaxaca was the pioneer in both Mexico and Latin America in the production and marketing of organic coffee. Chiapas followed the footsteps of its neighbor and later became the largest producer. These cooperative organizations are devoted to the production and commercialization of organic coffee and are officially certified with seals of guarantee.

In the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur in Oaxaca, there is a town named Pluma Hidalgo. The families in this village, cultivate organic coffee in a rustic and artisan way, in small farms not larger than 20 acres each. The Pluma coffee plants of Pluma Hidalgo produce a very aromatic coffee, in part due to the growing conditions -an average altitude of 4260 feet above sea level, shade-grown in volcanic soil, under cloud cover using only organic composts of leaves, coffee parchment, and fruit.

Among the characteristics of this famous coffees are beans with uniform size and oval shape, and a special blue and greenish color. In the cup, the Pluma Hidalgo is recognized for its balance, mild acidity, medium body, and distinguished flavor -smooth and aromatic with notes of cocoa, malt, and raisin. Naturally creamy with a characteristic hazelnut color and flavor, it’s recommended to brew it as espresso.

The friendly and gracious people of Pluma Hidalgo have successfully worked toward having their plantations declared part of Mexico’s ecological reserves. This way the jungle which provides valuable natural resources such as spectacular views, colorful butterflies, abundant species of birds and plants, and the right conditions for raising their coffee, has also become an ecotourism attraction.

Sadly as the coronavirus pandemic has shut down both the tourism and the restaurant sectors in Mexico and abroad, coffee producers in this region of Oaxaca are worried about the future of their crops.

“As producers and small business owners we create jobs, generate economy, promote our community as a tourist destination (and) bring the earnings of this dispersed local economy into the community”, said Rosario Esteban, a coffee grower and cafe owner from the community of Pluma Hidalgo.

Those revenues are currently under threat. The lack of coffee shops brewing up lattes, espressos, and cappuccinos nearly all over the world, has affected sales drastically. “There are small producers here in Pluma who haven’t sold a kilo of coffee in over three months”, said Damian Ramirez, whose family runs a small plantation outside of Pluma Hidalgo.

He and other growers have had to lay off workers and reduce production during the quarantine period. “We small producers are suffering,” he said. But the wholesale market isn’t the only part of this local economy affected by the pandemic. Tourism is also an important source o income for many communities in the Sierra Sur. Ramirez, who runs a cafe right next to Estaban’s in Pluma Hidalgo’s main square, agreed with her that the lack of tourists has gravely affected the incomes of small coffee producers in the region.

---

Every year, we at Travelian Tours promote and run nature and birding tours across Oaxaca, starting in the Central Valleys, exploring the coastal region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, discovering the natural beauty of Huatulco, Puerto Escondido, and its surroundings. During these journeys, our traveling friends have got the opportunity to visit Pluma Hidalgo to enjoy Pluma’s coffee, amazing scenery, lush nature reserves, and rich diversity of birds.

During our nature adventures, we’ve got the chance to befriend members of different communities in Pluma Hidalgo, one of them is La Pasionaria, a small village of 900 inhabitants who grow organic shade-grown coffee following sustainable practices and taking great care of their forest, hence the abundance of birds. Their coffee is named Oro del Sur – Café Pluma, and is a remarkable coffee, especially if you like espresso. As a way to support them, we’ve agreed on selling/distributing their coffee in our community in San Miguel de Allende: From their community to our community.

We’ve got a small batch of half kilo bags of ground coffee in 2 different levels of roasting:

a) Regular roast
b) Dark roast

To support this program, please purchase by using the menu below:
(Complimentary delivery in Downtown San Miguel in orders of 1 kilo and more)

---

If you are interested in exploring this area of México, please visit:
https://www.birding.mx

Most warmly,
Rodrigo López
Travelian Tours