It has been just over a year since we had Quetzal our last Mexican from Ensambles on our offer list. An easy every day drinker, a people pleaser, sessionable as they say. With a fresh harvest landing on our shores, we had the pleasure of lining up another lot in similar fashion, incomes The Café 89. The profile is complex and full while being mellow and smooth, dominated by sweet candied nuts and dried fruits. It is currently the soul warming brew we are all going to here at the roastery on a grey autumnal day.
CAFÉ 89
This coffee was produced by 22 women from The Café 89 cooperative, located in Jaltenango de la Paz. The cooperative maintains an alliance with Sierra Azul - a sister cooperative that handled the marketing of their coffee until 2023. The lot brings together producers from different generations, ranging from age 19 to 46. Some of them belong to Tseltal indigenous communities.
The coffee groves are nourished with organic composts prepared by the producers themselves using coffee by-products - such as pulp - along with soil, banana leaves, and other materials. Through these prectices, they produce 100% organic coffee.
PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPES
The producers cultivate their coffee using a traditional system known as rusticano ( or mountain-style), where coffee trees grow amidst various layers of shade, accompanied by native timer trees such as white pine, cedar and palo blanco. Crops such as limes, mandarins, bananas, oranges and avocados also grow alongside coffee trees.
These food crops aer generally intended for personal consumpstion and contribut to the communities' food sovereignty. At the same time, these agroforestry systems foster biodiversity, help mitigate the effects of climate change and offer coffee plants protection against extreme weather conditions.
CHALLENGES FACED BY CAFÉ 89
- Many agricultural tasks are still performed by men, which limits women's direct participation in certain decisions and productive activities.
- Some communities are located far from their plots and collection centres. Journeys can take up to two hours, and situations worsens nduring the rainy season.
- The coffee berry borrer remains a major threat. However replanting with more resistant varieties - such as Marsellesa, Peñasco and Anacafé 14 - has helped reduce the impact of coffee leaf rust.
- Some localities also experienced a labor shortage during the harvest, as many residents are migrating to cities or other countries.
ENSAMBLES RELATIONSHIP WITH CAFÉ 89
Café 89 is a cooperative compromising of approximately 118 women producers from various municipalities in the La Frailesca region. Since 2023, the cooperative has successfully exported coffee produced by women.
Ensambles has maintained a working relationship with Café 89 now for four years. Although the trade volums were lower at the start, purchasing quantites have increased this year. With each harvest we are excited to see the relationship grow stronger and more solid.
(In partnership with Ensambles)
