Overview

This Los Altos community lot is comprised of deliveries from UCANOCH cooperative producers in the municipality of Teopisca Nuevo León, Chiapas. Each lot is individually quality-tested and chosen for blending to represent the characteristics of this region of Chiapas.

About UCONOCH Cooperative

UCANOCH, founded in June 2014, is focused on providing support to its producers in the state of Chiapas through training, technical assistance, and certifications. The organization manages the certifications USDA-NOP, UE, JAS, LPO, C.A.F.E. PRACTICES, and UTZ, allowing its members to sell their sustainable coffee on the international market. UCANOCH is improving the consistency of its coffee year after year by organizing several training sessions in the field.

The cooperative also provides social welfare programs such as crop/income diversification, coffee plant distribution, and ecological latrines.

The UCANOCH cooperative is currently comprised of 2,200 producers, of which 46% are women. The producers of UCANOCH belong to the Tzeltal and Tzotzil indigenous communities, and still observe many of the customs and traditions today.

Cari Coffee

The coffees from UCANOCH are exported by Cari Coffee, which was officially established in 2020. Cari is the specialty coffee division of Agroindustrias Unidas de México S.A de C.V. (AMSA) and a member of the ECOM Coffee Group. Cari's team of agronomists, cuppers, and traders is dedicated to finding the best customer for each coffee they produce and creating long-lasting relationships.

It is Cari Coffee and the team at AMSA that rigorously put the coffees through multiple quality control filters and testing- to make sure that every lot represents the best from the communities representing.

Regional Info

Teopisca Nuevo León, Chiapas, Mexico

Mexico’s biodiversity richness makes it an ideal place for coffee production. Chiapas is recognized as one of the main producing states of “café de altura” due to its altitude and quality of its coffee beans.

The state of Chiapas is located in the South of Mexico. It is one of the five Mayan states, with great archaeological, cultural, and natural wealth, concentrated in a territory of 73,289 square kilometers. It represents 3.8% of the country’s surface area and borders the state of Tabasco to the north, the Republic of Guatemala to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the south, and the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz to the west.

The town of Nuevo Leon belongs to the municipality of Teopisca and is the most important ejido for Teopisca. Teopisca is a Nahuatl name meaning "House of the Red Lord." Some Tzeltales groups still live in Teopisca. This region is famous for its leather and saddlery workshops. The first mention of this town dates back to 1586 by Friar Alonso Ponce who passed through this settlement on his way to Guatemala. The town of Teopisca had a very important Spanish influence, so its current population is mestizo.

The church of San Agustín is located in the main square of Teopisca. Its construction began at the end of the 16th century and was completed at the beginning of the 17th century in a Mudejar style. The tourists can also visit the bishop’s caves, the waterfalls, and the archaeological zone.

Among Teopisca traditional foods are beef jerky, salted meat, palm hearts, sausages, and sweets such as honey candy and nougat. Also, the typical drinks are punch, corn atole, and white pozole.