Mexico - Sicobi Washed

Mexico - Sicobi Washed

Region:  Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico
Producer Type:  Sistema Comunitario para el Resguardo y Manejo de la Biodiversidad (Community System for Protecting and Managing Biodiverstiy), 223 members
Wet Mill:  Rivense del Chirripó
Altitude: 1300-1900 MASL
Varietals: Typica, Caturra, Mundo Nuovo
Process:  Washed

We Taste: Molasses, Green Apple, Almond Biscotti

Light Roast

Sierra Sur is located in the very mountainous southern part of the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. This part of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range creates a unique microclimate for the growing of coffee.  Due to this microclimate and the processing, this offering presents a distinct and unique cup.

Sicobi, which stands for Sistema Comunitario para el Resguardo y Manejo de la Biodiversidad (Community System for Protecting and Managing Biodiversity), was founded in 2010 by the non-governmental organization GAIA. Ten communities constituted Sicobi when the organization started, but now that number is down to six. GAIA is a group of biologists that has been working in Oaxaca for 25 years. While GAIA still participates in the commercial and developmental side of Sicobi, the group’s members are now playing a larger role in how it’s organized.

Sicobi has an innovative way of organizing growers. While the organization doesn’t work with all coffee growers in the surrounding communities, it has established policies and rules for the entire territory the communities are in. Sicobi enforces its policies through a board consisting of local authorities, and through this territorial management aims to preserve biodiversity in the community. There is one paid technician in each community in Sicobi—typically a young student who gathers information for that community. The council uses this information to establish policies and rules that make the best use of the community’s natural resources.