Mexico Organic Ki-Saya

Toasted almonds, milk chocolate, balanced, long finish
TOP LOT
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Bag Weight 69 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2023/24
Status Spot
Lot Number P612058-1
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About This Coffee

Ki-Saya is our organic offering from Chiapas. The name come from the combination of two words in the indigenous Mayan language of the area: Ki, meaning “tasty” and Saayab, which means “nature.” Coffee is the most important commercial crop in Chiapas and has a long history in the region, representing a significant source of income for small producers, some 44% of whom are indigenous, mostly Tzotzil and Tzeltal. As a leading player in the state of Chiapas, Covoya is also a key partner for the farmers, working for more than 15 years with the coffee growing communities. Our engagement has become a flagship of sustainable agricultural practices and supply chain transformation, hence adding value to their main economic activity. 

Farmers in the areas where Ki-Saya coffee is sourced have improved their processing capabilities over the years, and now take great pride in delivering pristine parchment coffee that is some of the best in all of Mexico. Only the ripest, best cherries are selected; after depulping, the coffee ferments for 12 to 17 hours before being washed and dried on small drying patios next to farmers’ homes.

Country of Origin Mexico
Region Chiapas
Producer Type Small Holder Farmers
Farm Name Various producers
Processing Washed
Processing Description Fermented 12-17hrs, sun-dried on patios
Growing Altitude 1200m - 1800m
Harvest Season 2023/24
Bag Weight 69 KG BAG
Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species Arabica
Variety Caturra, Costa Rica, Typica, Marsellesa
Certifications Organic Certified NOP

History of Coffee in Mexico

With seeds from the Caribbean, cultivation began in Veracruz, where custom house records indicate a few hundred bags of coffee were exported as early as 1802. But these exports were apparently anomalous because after 1805 coffee would not be exported again for twenty years, after the war of independence. Production did increase over this period, presumably for domestic trade and consumption. In 1817, a planter named Don Juan Antonio Gomez started “intensive cultivation” further south, where coffee thrived at high altitudes. By 1826 there were half a million trees in Cordoba and Mexican coffee was being exported.  In 1828, seeds—or possibly plants—from Arabia (Yemen) were planted in Uruapan, near the Pacific coast west of Mexico City, by Jose Mariano Michelena. Trees were brought from Guatemala to be planted in the southern state of Chiapas in 1847, and  Oaxaca would become the third largest producer of Mexican coffee by 1889.  

Growing Coffee in Mexico

Mexican coffee grows in 15 states throughout the southern half of the country but over 90% comes from four states: Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Puebla. Specialty coffee comes from the highlands of Veracruz on the gulf coast, the mountains of Oaxaca and Chiapas at the southern tip of Mexico. In Veracruz coffee grows from 1,100-1,660 m.a.s.l. In Chiapas coffee grows from 1,300-1,700 m.a.s.l. In Oaxaca coffee grows from 900-1,650 m.a.s.l. Coffee is grown by more than half a million farmers, 95% of these being smallholders cultivating less than three hectares and 85% of Mexico’s coffee farmers are indigenous Mexicans. Most Mexican coffee is grown under shade and Mexico is one of the world’s largest producers of certified organic coffee and Fair Trade coffee. Most Mexican coffee is Bourbon, Catura, Maragogype, or Mundo Novo, though other varieties can be found. Mexico grows almost no Robusta.  

  • Region Chiapas
  • Farm Name Various producers
  • Producer Type Small Holder Farmers
  • Processing Washed
  • Processing Description Fermented 12-17hrs, sun-dried on patios
  • Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Caturra, Costa Rica, Typica, Marsellesa
  • Min Growing Altitude 1200m
  • Max Growing Altitude 1800m
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot Yes
  • Status Spot
  • Certifications Organic Certified NOP
  • Coffee Grade MEX CA WA SHG
  • CTRM Contract Number P612058-1
  • Country of Origin Mexico
  • Warehouse The Annex CA