Cafeologo, our partner in Chiapas
Jesus says he is the zero generation in his family when it comes to coffee. Originally from Tuxtla, the capital of Chiapas, he lives with his family in San Cristobal de las Casas. Originally a roaster, his Cafeologia project now includes a café, a hotel, a quality laboratory, a cupping room, a roaster, a warehouse and a small factory.
The Cafeologia Project
Jesus' aim was to develop a project around coffee growing, involving Mayan communities. In 2010 he started working with 4 farmers. Today he is in direct contact with 140 micro-producers in the Chiapas region, in the Aldama terroir (with the San Pedro Community Beneficio), in the Tenejapa terroir (Sibactel Community Beneficio) and recently in the Amatenango de la Frontera terroir.
A humanistic and qualitative vision of coffee growing
The farmers speak Tsotsil and Tseltal (the Mayan languages) and produce very high-quality nano-lots, about 20 bags per year on 2 hectares. Far from intensive agriculture, the coffee trees grow in their gardens in the shade of endemic trees such as the xalum. With such low yields, coffee is not viable for these families. Jesus' approach then becomes social, asking each farmer how much money they need to live on for a year. He then explains to the farmers that they need to add value to the coffee in order to pay this price. The only way to do that is through quality.
Jesus and Diana, a commited duo
Jesus is a Q-processor (the process equivalent of a Q-grader). He brings his expertise to each farmer and sometimes the drying and finishing is done on the roof of Cafeologia with African beds.
Diana, the agronomist who accompanies Jesus in his procurement work, provides training for the farmers (combating Broca's disease or Ojo de Gayo, improving agricultural practices by pruning coffee trees...). The coffees are not certified but are produced according to the organic model.
From the 2020 harvest, the coffee will be bought as cherries at the price of the parchment for 2 reasons:
- To strongly encourage selective harvesting
- To better reward farmers
To defend a different way of growing coffee in Mexico
Above all, Jesus wants to promote the quality of Chiapas coffee and "change the image of Mexican coffee". He has surrounded himself with partners who share his attitude, philosophy and values to defend a different way of growing coffee in Mexico, reviving high quality that creates value for the indigenous communities that produce it. Much more than a coffee partner, Jesus and his team participate in religious celebrations, the corn festival and help with everyday problems.
