Mexico Edilzar Ordóñez

Region: Sierra Mariscal, Chiapas, Mexico Elevation Grown: 1456–1600 MASL Variety: Sarchimor, Catuaí, San Ramón, Garnica Chapparo Process: Washed Tastes like: Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Cinnamon, Panela, and Chocolate Edilzar “Edi” Ordóñez Mazariegos has worked on his family’s farm since 1998. It sits in Amatenango de la Frontera, in the Sierra Mariscal region of Chiapas, along Mexico’s border with Guatemala. Coffee has been part of the family for generations. Edi’s father, Luis, taught him and his brothers, Rony and Maynor, how to grow it. Today, the three brothers work together across the 26-hectare farm, sharing the work of managing the land and caring for more than a dozen coffee varieties. Alongside coffee, Edi also grows corn, chiles, and beans. The family had hoped to eventually grow their coffee acreage to 40 hectares. But finding enough people to care for the land they already have has been a challenge. They’ve been working with roughly half the labor they need. In recent years, they’ve put resources toward better wages, free weekly food allowances, and equipment that makes the work easier. These are practical changes, made to bring more pickers to the farm and improve conditions for the people working there. This washed lot brings together Sarchimor, Catuaí, San Ramón, and Garnica Chapparo, grown between 1456 and 1600 meters. It comes from a family that continues to invest in the farm, in the coffee, and in the people needed to bring each harvest in.