Enjoying the Difference

Grown in the tropical jungle setting that characterizes the Chiapas region, this delicate coffee offers a light to medium body with mild acidity. Mexican coffee offers a balanced cup with overtones of spices and fruit.

Making a Difference

Mexican coffee cooperatives emerged in the mid and late eighties when the Mexican coffee industry was in crisis. Coffee prices were so low that many small-scale farming families could not survive. In response to the Mexican coffee crisis, 16,000 small-scale farmers came together to address the situation collectively. They created an independent cooperative to bypass local middlemen and export their coffee directly. They now sell much of their coffee to the Fair Trade market and are guaranteed a price that will support the co-op’s member families.

The premiums from Fair Trade coffee sponsor programs in the community, including:

• A microcredit project and a credit union
• The purchase of village warehouses, trucks, and scales
• Technical assistance for improvement in coffee quality and yield
• A rural development project

“Fair Trade is not a handout. It allows us to save and invest our money and improve our lives. Most importantly, Fair Trade gives coffee producers hope for a better future.”
Jaime Hernandez, Marketing Manager, CEPCO