MEXICO | CHIAPAS | MOUNTAIN WATER DECAF

In the mountains of Chiapas, southern Mexico, coffee is much more than an agricultural crop. For generations, indigenous Tzotzil and Tzeltal communities have cultivated coffee as part of a diverse landscape of forest, fruit trees and traditional food crops.

This coffee brings together the work of two producer organisations, Capitán Luis A. Vidal and La Unión Majomut.

Near the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, the Capitán Luis A. Vidal cooperative works with smallholder families cultivating coffee on farms of approximately two to ten hectares. Rather than relying on intensive monoculture, their traditional farming systems allow coffee to grow beneath a mixed canopy of trees.

Further north, La Unión Majomut brings together around 610 families across 35 indigenous communities. Its work reaches far beyond the harvest, supporting housing, food production, women's economic opportunities and community finance.

Working with Mexican sourcing company Ensambles, these producers receive training and quality feedback intended to help them improve their coffee and strengthen their position in the market.

Once prepared for export, the coffee undergoes Mountain Water decaffeination in Veracruz, using a water-based process designed to preserve its natural character.

The result is a decaf that offers much more than a caffeine-free alternative. With its comforting chocolate sweetness, dried fruit character and crisp red apple notes, it is a coffee with a distinctive origin and a meaningful story behind every cup.

This coffee is decaffeinated using the Mountain Water Process developed by Descamex in Veracruz, Mexico.

The process uses water sourced from the Pico de Orizaba mountain region to extract caffeine from green coffee beans.

The beans are hydrated to make the caffeine more soluble. A water-based extraction process then removes caffeine while aiming to preserve the compounds responsible for the coffee's flavour and aroma.

The caffeine is separated from the extraction water, allowing the water to be reused during processing.

The beans are subsequently dried to a suitable moisture level, ready for roasting.

The supplier states that the process removes up to 99% of the caffeine without using added chemical solvents.

This coffee brings together producers from two farming organisations in Chiapas: the Capitán Luis A. Vidal cooperative and La Unión Majomut.

La Unión Majomut supports approximately 610 indigenous farming families across 35 Tzotzil and Tzeltal communities. Its programmes extend beyond coffee production to include improved housing, food self-sufficiency, women's economic participation and a rural micro-bank supporting the local economy.

Both producer groups practise traditional Rusticano polyculture farming. Coffee grows beneath a diverse canopy of trees alongside fruit species and crops such as maize, beans, squash and chilli.

These agroforestry systems support biodiversity, protect soils and help maintain a more resilient agricultural landscape near the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve.

Through sourcing partner Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos, producers receive agricultural training, post-harvest guidance and quality assessments designed to strengthen their position within the speciality coffee market.