Mazateca Mujeres • Mexico

We have been purchasing Mexican coffees from Osito, one of our importing partners, since 2021. This is our first year purchasing coffee from Mazateca Mujeres. Sierra Mazateca, and Oaxaca as a whole, has long been an area of focus for Osito in Mexico. This region is home to some of the most vibrant coffees and communities in the country. This coffee comes from various smallholder families, all of which are overseen by women, from various municipalities of the mountainous area of Sierra Mazateca including Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón, San Mateo Yoloxochitlán and Huautla de Jiménez. It is estimated that up to 70% of labor in the coffee sector is done by women, and 20-30% of all coffee farms globally are owned by women. Yet men, almost exclusively, get all of the credit despite women playing a large and active role in production as well as high level decision making. Over the last couple of years, Osito has been working to shift this dynamic ever so slightly. They have started creating what they are calling “community microlots” compiled of individual lots of coffee that are considered too small to be stand alone offerings (but with admirable quality that deserves a higher pedestal than just being blended away). In the case of Mazateca Mujeres, Osito took lots scoring between 86 and 87 points, selected based on similar profiles and physical qualities, AND that were delivered to them by women producers. Their hope was to create lots with superb quality that also shine a spotlight on women doing great work. We selected this coffee due to our love for the profiles found from Oaxacan coffees, as well as supporting Osito’s efforts to highlight the work of women in coffee. This coffee is bright and fruity with notes of orange and berries, sweet with notes of praline, and a really interesting finish that reminded us of a vanilla fudge with rum.