When coffee is cultivated and harvested from small family owned farms, exporters play a critical role in ensuring quality and fairness. The collaborative sourcing team at Grupo de Asesores de Producción Orgánica y Sustentables (GRAPOS) has been a steady staple of fair trade and organic certified coffee here at Royal. GRAPOS boasts an impressive farmers group operating in the municipalities of Unión Juárez, Cacahoatan, and Tapachula located within the state of Chiapas, Mexico. GRAPOS is popular among farmers for their investments in nurseries to support farm renovation, and diversification initiatives including a women’s knitting program and mushroom cultivation project aimed at creating other sources of income. Grapos also has 8 regional warehouses that help producers reduce transportation costs and a reputation for paying farmers immediately when coffee is delivered.
Growing Region
This particular lot comes from 6 small farms in the municipalities of Union Juarez and Cacahotán, both on the Mexico/ Guatemala border near Volcan Tacaná. Farmers in this area typically cultivate coffee on just a few acres using organic farm management practices.
Processing details
During the harvest, each producer follows a strict protocol which includes picking cherries at optimum ripeness, hand sorting, floating to remove damaged and undeveloped beans, depulping and fermenting before washing and drying the coffee on patios or raised beds to 11%.
Exporting preparation
Dried coffee is transported to the nearest warehouse and then to a central dry mill facility where coffee is received, cupped and selected for export. Grapos preparation ensures traceability and quality control throughout the post harvest process, which is a vital resource for establishing higher prices for producers.
