Organic Mexico- Maya Vinic Coop

Region: Chiapas

Coffee Highlights

This coffee has become one of our best selling bulk beans for many of the fine grocers who carry it. More than likely it is due to the coffees balance and mildness.  The acidity is lower and soft with just a hint of lemon verbena nuance.  The body is mild and gentle and the finish is pleasant and sweet. This is a great coffee to brew through a commercial auto-drip brewer as well as high end home drip brewers.  It's also the perfect press pot selection, especially for those just beginning their journey with press pots. As well, those who are transitioning into drinking coffee without adding milk will find this coffee inviting.

Producers’ Union Maya Vinic

Facts About Producers Union Maya Vinic

• Established on July 31, 1999
• Membership: 700 members in 36 communities of which 284 are certified organic.
• Region: The highlands of Chiapas in southern Mexico
• Website-www.mayavinic.com

The Cooperative "Producers’ Union Maya Vinic" is located in highland communities in the municipalities of Chenalhó, Pantelhó and Chalchihuitán, in Chiapas, Mexico.

Inspired by the traditions of their ancestors, Maya Vinic is organized and operates in keeping with a respect of local culture, language, reverence for Mother Earth and traditional forms of self-government.
 Maya Vinic Cooperative was born out of the wider civil society called "Las Abejas,” an organized response to the prevalent and ongoing injustice in their communities and in the hopes of promoting positive change and autonomous development by peaceful means. The plight of their communities came to the public eye in the aftermath of the infamous Acteal Massacre on December 22, 1997, where 45 men, women and children were killed and thousands more displaced from their homes by paramilitary forces. Maya Vinic has given the people focus and a future.

Coffee production is nothing new to the farmers of this region.

“Recruited” since the arrival of the plantations in the early 1900s as poorly paid hired hands during the harvest, they learned about production and processing and the wealth that coffee had made for a fortunate few.
 Since those difficult early years, farmers have organized themselves into producer cooperatives in search of more equitable markets. In keeping with this legacy, Maya Vinic has recently been accepted to the FLO register and is in their second year of the organic certification process. Cooperative Coffees purchased the first Maya Vinic coffee to be exported under fair trade terms in 2001. This type of early support is an integral part of gaining a solid foothold in the market.

In order to be able to offer a consistently high-quality coffee, raised with care and dignity, the coop offers educational and capacity-building activities focused on sustainable farming techniques and the importance of a strong social economy.

As a collective initiative to improve the living situations of their farmers, Maya Vinic understands that in addition to providing a greater economic benefit, the coop works for the dignity and fair treatment of its members through coffee production and marketing.

 Their main priorities are to become more financially sustainable and self-sufficient, to provide members with technical assistance to better manage the coffee fields and shade trees, to have more members certified, and to increase the productivity. Your support of their efforts is an important part of their ability to produce exceptional coffee.