Story
Sierra Azul is a silky smooth regional blend made up of coffee by 20 women, all smallholder producers with farms averaging 3 hectares, in the humid cloud forests of Ángel Albino Corzo in Chiapas, Mexico. This lot was milled and exported by Café Gourmet Sierra Azul, a small cooperative representing over 200 local small-scale farmers, of which these producers are members. Founded in 2010 and managed by Gilmer Roblero Cancino, the organization takes its name from the “blue mountain” ecosystem that produces predominantly organic shade-grown coffee. We taste Panela sugar, almond, and pear in the cup.
Coffee from Ángel Albino Corzo is sometimes referred to as “Jaltenango,” in reference to its capital, Jaltenango de la Paz, and graced with the kinds of terroir attributes that high altitude conditions and volcanic soil are known for; dense beans and complex sugars. The coffee varieties in this blend are Bourbon, Typica, and Mundo Nova.
This land area also benefits from the nearby El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO-protected preservation zone that provides soil biodiversity and unique microclimate temperatures to its living environment. Coffee plants polyculturally coexist with thousands of other species under a tree canopy that protects them from direct sunlight and fortifies the crop’s natural ecosystem. These harmonious natural assets—and strong inclusion of Indigenous agricultural traditions—are why the state of Chiapas is a leading producer of organic coffee in Mexico, as well as cacao, beans, corn, honey, and other crops.
The sovereignty of the farming community here has come to depend on organic, sustainable principles. Coffee is grown by over half a million farmers, with 95% operating on less than three hectares of land. Café Sierra Azul represents mostly family-run farms in communities situated around El Triunfo—and like the women who produced this lot across 11 unique municipalities, most process and dry their coffee themselves. Sierra Azul helps stabilize the risks its members take on with social and educational projects, and international buyer relationships in the specialty coffee sphere.
The women who produced this lot picked and separated cherries for ripeness and quality by floating, and sun-dried them on raised beds. Using a system called pozos de filtración to naturally treat wastewater generated during processing and milling in ground pits of gravel, sand, and charcoal before it seeps into the water table, these farmers are committed to sustainably protecting their environment and the product it cultivates. This delicious coffee is carefully crafted and naturally endowed with smooth balance and rich fruitiness.
Full list of producers:
Angela Escobar Perez, Margarita Cancino Raymundo, Maria Doridalma Vazquez Lopez, Martha Luz Perez Ortiz, Eloiza Muñoz Orblero, Maria del Carmen Perez Lopez, Angelina Galvez Perez, Yani Gabriela Dominguez Vazquez, Elizabeth Vazquez Perez, Yanet Vazquez Perez, Teresa Gregoria Hernandez Alvarez, Elba Yumara Salas Ramirez, Veronica Angel Perez, Bertina Duarte Reyes, Dominga Diaz Sanchez, Anayanci Dominguez Vazquez, Leidy Marisol Dominguez Vazquez, Carlota Roblero Roblero, Noemi Roblero Perez, and Elvira Perez Ortiz
