Mexico Buenavista Loxicha

The Buenavista Loxicha community is home to 50–100 smallholder coffee producers and their families in the municipality of San Agustín Loxicha, Oaxaca. Nestled in the mountainous Sierra Madre del Sur, these family-run farms are rich, diverse ecosystems where coffee grows alongside bananas, corn, beans, and fruit trees. Together, these crops provide both an important source of income and food for the families who cultivate them.

Grown between 1,000 and 1,700 meters above sea level, coffee thrives in the region’s rich clay soils and temperate climate. Producers cultivate a mix of Bourbon, Caturra, Maragogipe, Mundo Novo, and Typica varieties. During harvest, each producer carefully selects perfectly ripe coffee cherries before hand-sorting, depulping, and fermenting them. The coffee is then washed and dried on patios or raised beds until it reaches approximately 11% moisture. While each family typically harvests its own coffee, neighbors often work together during processing and washing, reflecting the collaborative nature of the community.

Many producers continue to cultivate older coffee varieties that can produce exceptional quality but may offer lower yields and greater susceptibility to disease. The Coffee Leaf Rust outbreak of 2012 devastated Mexico’s coffee sector and, combined with historically low coffee prices, forced many families to leave coffee farming. As prices have improved, families and communities have begun returning to coffee and investing in production once again.

Garra de Jaguar manages the coffee’s exportation, transporting parchment from the community to the dry mill while maintaining traceability and working to ensure premiums reach producers. It has been a few years since we’ve featured the balanced, round mouthfeel and silky character we love from Oaxaca, and we’re excited to welcome Buenavista Loxicha back into the fold.