About This Coffee
Anepaan O’depüt, SPR De RL De CV is a cooperative based in Jaltenango, Mexico that’s led by women. They work alongside young producers, empowering the next generation to cultivate coffee in environmentally sustainable ways.
Impacto Café works with cooperatives focused on transforming their environment to improve their members’ living conditions and support the earth for generations to come. Impacto helps cooperatives through “organizational coaching”, helping them focus on developing their knowledge management, talent and leadership. They work hand in hand with producers and cooperatives to help them achieve environmental sustainability while producing high quality, certified coffees.
One of their programs is a sustainable social enterprise incubator, that strengthens business management and facilitates market access for small producer organizations. Another program, their leadership program, targets young people in the community and helps them develop their potential through workshops and trainings.
Cultivation
Anepaan cooperative members use natural techniques to improve soil fertilizer, reduce erosion and prevent soil contamination. They also use sustainable biological pest and weed control techniques that protect coffee trees while protecting the environment.
One of Impacto Café’s programs supports networks of “cells” of producers (groups of 15-25 producers) as they commit to improving production, profitability and quality. The cells operate a demonstration plot with support from a youth service leader (another of Impacto Café’s projects). Cells learn Good Agricultural Practices (GAPS) and use accounting to make good business decisions, plan investments and access credit. They also focus on quality-oriented processing methods to improve overall quality.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Each member of the cooperative has their own wet mill or shares one with a family member living nearby. Coffee is always selectively handpicked and then pulped on the same day.
After pulping, coffee will be fermented in small tanks or buckets for about 24 hours before being washed in clean water to remove all traces of mucilage. All water used in the pulping and processing is filtered so as to prevent water contamination. All coffee pulp is used as compost.
After washing, coffee is moved to drying patios where it is raked regularly to ensure even drying.
European Preparation (EP)
EP stands for European Preparation. EP beans are Screen 15+ with a low defect tolerance.
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.