About This Coffee
Mariana Luttmann owns 120 hectares in Huatulco, Oaxaca. Huatulco, which means “place where wood is worshipped” in the Zapoteco dialect, is about one and a half hours by car from Zipolite, one of Mexico’s most iconic beaches. Mariana devotes 70 hectares of Finca Aurora to forested coffee production, where coffee is shade-grown beneath native shade trees. Combined with her focused harvesting and processing, the resulting coffee is sweet and clean with a nice acidity and pleasant body.
Cultivation
Coffee is typically planted in forests, intercropped with a wide range of native flora and fauna. This coffee is shade tree grown under natives tree species and cultivated with sustainable practices. No polluting inputs were used.
In addition to producing coffee, Mariana also produces cascara (dried coffee pulp and skin) and has 50 hectares dedicated to producing honey.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Mariana selectively handpicks ripe, red cherry and process it on her own farm. Cherry is pulped and fermented in wooden tanks. Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and laid on patios to sun dry. Parchment is raked frequently to ensure even drying.
Coffee in Mexico
Mexico is one of the largest exporters of certified Organic and Fairtrade coffees. Smallholders with less than 10 hectares compose a full 70% of Mexico’s coffee producers. Since the 1990s, producers have largely been successful at forming cooperatives that sell certified coffees and help them gain market access to garner higher prices.