Caballo Rucio

Description

Grupo Ñuu is made up of 25-30 Mestizo and Mixteco families who work together to preserve the traditions and heritage of their grandparents through their committment to coffee. Their work includes reconstituting soils, using a blend of organic methods and modern delivery methods. In the same way they adjust traditional processing methods based on feedback from other origins. This region is heavily shaded, and coffee is viewed as the primary way of retaining the old growth forests which help to keep the farms a cool 21-23C / 70-73F during the day. Driven by the combination of coastal winds and steep mountains, the temperature here drops a full 10C / 20F on average at night – making it the perfect climate for berries to develop more complex sugars and acidity.

This is a rare Mountainous Cloud Forest; Bosque Mesófilo de Montaña, island-like ecosystems which create, and are fed by their own clouds, and which are home to ~ 10% of Mexico’s animal species even if only representing .5% of land. This is the Sierra Madre Occidental, La Mixteca Region, known for steep slopes pocketed with communities, each with their own history and unique flavor. Grupo Ñuu is a new, small group who chose a name that has a meaning between ‘life’, ‘place’ and ‘people’. The group was formed and supported by Terra Coffeas Mexico.

Terra Coffeas Mexico is a new (2022) collaboration to bring 80 years of operational expertise from the mill to export – in the form of long-time family-business Galguera Gomez – together with fresh perspectives from a young, CQI-calibrated team of on-the-ground mobilizers – led by the passionate Frida Mendoza. Their team includes engineers, agronomists, biologists, chemists, cuppers, artists and, of course, coffee lovers, all together for the common goal of agroecológico – the intentional purposing of international standards for quality, productivity and traceability, towards the advancement of local cultural practices, environmental resources, and economic outcomes.

This group is on the ground, investing their time and advancing producers consultancy services, well before the harvest begins. They have a narrow focus that allows them to truly partner with producers, reviewing farm, processing and export processes as a peer. While visiting the farms, Terra Coffeas staff also look to the household. They work with producers to fill out a customized family work plan that recognizes roles related to harvest and processing, and offer to pay an additional premium for women-produced coffees. And this is such a coffee, where women producers received an addition .15 – .20 USD / KG premium (2022).