Mexico Cerro la Bruja

Just in time for spooky season!

A well-planted hill (1700MASL) in San Vicente Yogondoy with a particularly notable feature, Cerro La Bruja (formerly known in Nahuatl as Cerro de Nahuales) means "Hill of the Witch" in Spanish. Producers who grow coffee there say its rainy season features many electrical storms at the hill’s highest peak, filling it with lightning that takes several days to dissipate even after the storms end. Cerro La Bruja is particularly densely forested and the producers here are passionate about maintaining the forest. Yogondoy’s indigenous Zapotec traditions and language are alive and well. In Zapotec, Yogondoy means "River of Bees," and many local farmers keep beehives for honey and pollination alongside their coffee. Many of the farmers in this group have younger coffee trees that were planted in the last 5 years and continue the tradition of maintaining almost 100% of the Pluma variety, a local mutation of Typica that has grown here for over 80 years. It thrives in these conditions, soil, and climate, producing spectacular cup quality. Many of the farmers are also under 30 years old, an encouraging fact showing that coffee has a future here. Yogondoy has a high level of plant diversity on the coffee farms compared to other coffee-growing areas. Local producers use native trees such as Cuachepil, Cuil, and/or avocado to shade their coffee trees. These trees provide not only shade, but also various benefits such as food, ornamentation, medicine, construction materials, and water collection. Yogondoy is one of the few communities in which we see a year on year increase in both yield and quality. The producers here have invested a lot in their crops for 8 years, leading to production between 1000-2000 kg per hectare of dry parchment—nearly double that of many other Mexican coffee-growing areas. 

This dedication shows in the cup. On the nose we get cinnamon, cloves and warm spices. In the cup we taste loads of caramel, dates, chocolate and a hint of orange peel on the back. 

This is the kind of coffee you use for anything and drink every day and never be sad.