MEXICO | QUETZAL | MOUNTAIN WATER DECAF

Deep in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, coffee is grown among the mountains and forests surrounding one of Mexico's most important biodiversity regions.

Here, Café Capitan brings together farming communities across Frailesca and Sierra Mariscal, where coffee cultivation forms part of a wider agricultural landscape.

Rather than treating coffee as an isolated crop, farmers use polyculture systems that combine different plants and trees. These practices reflect the importance of protecting the landscape while sustaining the families who depend upon it.

The coffee travels through the sourcing network of Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos, an organisation working to connect smallholder producers with speciality coffee markets while supporting agricultural education and improvements in quality.

Its partnership with the Bios Terra Institute brings field technicians and practical training directly into coffee-growing communities, helping producers develop their knowledge of farming, harvesting and post-harvest preparation.

Once the coffee has been prepared, it undergoes Mountain Water decaffeination in Veracruz. Using a water-based extraction process, the caffeine is removed while aiming to preserve the character developed at origin.

The resulting coffee offers sweet orange, lively citrus and a gentle brown sugar finish. A reminder that choosing decaf doesn't mean giving up interesting coffee.

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

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

During decaffeination, the beans are hydrated and exposed to a controlled water-based extraction system. Caffeine is removed while the process aims to retain the soluble compounds responsible for the coffee's natural flavour and aroma.

The coffee is subsequently dried to an appropriate moisture level before being prepared for roasting.

The supplier states that up to 99% of the caffeine is removed without the use of added chemical solvents.

This coffee comes from Café Capitan, a producer organisation established in 2017 and working across 24 communities in the Frailesca and Sierra Mariscal regions of Chiapas.

The farms are situated within landscapes influenced by the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, an important area for biodiversity conservation.

Coffee is cultivated using polyculture farming systems, where different plants and trees grow together rather than relying entirely on a single crop. These systems can help support biodiversity, protect soil and water resources, and provide additional agricultural opportunities for farming households.

The coffee is sourced through Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos, established in 2021, which works with indigenous smallholder producers across Mexico.

Through its partnership with the Bios Terra Institute, Ensambles supports agricultural training, regenerative farming practices, post-harvest improvements and quality assessment. Field technicians visit communities throughout the year, while mobile laboratories provide producers with feedback during harvest.

These relationships aim to strengthen coffee quality, producer knowledge and long-term farming livelihoods.