I was gifted a bag of Mexico Bella Vista from Andytown Coffee Roasters located in San Francisco, California a few weeks ago. I have heard nothing but amazing things about this coffee company but for some reason I have not made my way to their cafe. I will be there for their latte art throwdown in a couple of days, so I thought I would give this coffee a try.
I made this coffee on my Hario v60 using a 1:16 ratio. I found that by using this ratio I was able to bring out the dried mango sweetness with a finish of milk chocolate. As the coffee cooled there were notes of toasted almond and apricot. The coffee was delicious and I enjoyed while watching the US qualifying barista championships.
Perhaps my favorite part about this coffee was the story behind it. This coffee is from the Bella Vista region of Chiapas, Mexico. Made from coffee harvested from 38 small, family owned coffee farms. Brought together because of the dedication of Rosalba Cifuentes.
Rosalba grew up working on her family's coffee farm. Picking coffee, pruning the trees, and making food for the other laborers. She moved to the Bay Area and was surprised to find almost no Mexican coffee in specialty coffee shops.
She quickly moved back to Bella Vista and began Mayan Harvest Coffee, a company that supports farmers in the area. They also work to protect the farmers from what they call 'coyote men' who are predatory middle men who often take advantage of the farmers. Mayan Harvest’s goal is to elevate Mexican coffee. Higher prices are paid for higher quality coffee, and each lot is registered with the FDA.
Rosalba says,
"I remember sitting by the fire with my grandma and aunt to thresh corn and hear them talking about the day, the coming harvest, and their dreams. At 10 I never imagined I would end up exporting and selling my town's coffee all over the world."
She has made such an impact on her community and in the specialty coffee world. I believe we are just learning about how amazing Mexican coffee is. I am glad we have people such as Rosalba, and Andytown Coffee Roasters who want to bring this delicious coffee to the public.
If you would like to purchase this coffee you can visit http://www.andytownsf.com/ and to learn more about Mayan Harvest Coffee you can visit https://www.mayanharvestcoffee.com/