The Story
San Agustin Loxicha sits in the Sierra Sur region of Oaxaca, about five hours from the state capital. Producers live in town, not on their land, and the farms are only reachable by foot or mule. During harvest, families make the trip up, stay in temporary housing, pick, and haul coffee back down over multiple trips to the collection center in town. The remoteness isn't incidental. It's part of why this community and its coffee have stayed so distinct.
The Zapotec identity here is intact in ways that are increasingly rare. Indigenous languages are still spoken, and Tequio, the Nahuatl-rooted tradition of communal workshare, is still how harvest gets organized and farms get maintained between seasons. That continuity shows up in the land too. The farms sit under thick canopies of native shade trees including Cuachepil, Cuil, and avocado, chosen not just for shade but for food, medicine, and the natural fertilizer the Cuil's leaf litter adds to the soil over time.
The variety is Pluma, a local mutation of Typica that has been growing in this specific soil and climate for over 80 years and doesn't really exist like this anywhere else. A meaningful number of producers here are under 30 and have planted new trees in the last five years, even as migration to the capital pulls others away. This is our second year sourcing coffee from this community and this year the notes are pink lady apple, mandarin orange, and praline.
