Flavor notes: Blackberry, spice cake, brown sugar & citrus

A breakout single farm and family lot from a long-favored community in Oaxaca.

Growers: La Familia Garcia Lopez
Municipality: San Agustin Loxicha, Oaxaca
Varietal: Washed Pluma Hidalgo
Elevation: 1500-2200 masl
Source and Import Partner: Red Fox Coffee Merchants

Bluebeard last joined our source partners Red Fox Coffee Merchants in Oaxaca at the beginning of March, 2020. You may remember this momentous month. The coffees we cupped were fantastic, particularly those from San Agustin Loxicha in the southern coastal mountain zone (Costa) of the state of Oaxaca. 

Source Info from Red Fox:
Oaxaca is an enigma in many ways but also can produce some of the very best cups in the country. Production here is still overwhelmingly driven by original lines of Bourbon and Typica, including the unique Pluma variety in the southern coastal mountains. With 16 distinct indigenous groups/cultures alone, many of which grow coffee, the region is incredibly diverse from an environmental, climatic, and social perspective. There are so many logistical and cost-of-production challenges here but that’s what excites and drives us to get better and bring these lots to more of our roasting clients and their end consumers. These are vibrant, delicious, sweet, sessionable coffees that seem to disappear from your cup because they go down so easily.

Our relationships are the deepest in Oaxaca. We’ve been building up our supply chain from the farm level (producers here average 1-2 hectares) in terms of quality improvement and separations as well as price negotiations and premiums, rather than working from the exporter or co-op level down. Financing is a big challenge farmers face here and we are committed to working creatively to solve this in both the short and long term.

These lots represent an enormous effort of selecting and vetting for quality, and not just in the cup. They all pass strict moisture content and water activity parameters as well. We build all our bulk regional and community lots by evaluating each individual farmer’s deliveries, and we are paying a minimum price that far exceeds the rate that these farmers receive through traditional channels.

More infomation on Red Fox Coffee Merchants presence in Guadalupe Miramar can be found here: Paying For Coffee, Oaxaca edition | Red Fox Coffee Merchants