How Are Things in Bella Vista, Mexico?
Last fall, we received upsetting news from the Mayan Harvest team that cartel activity, which developed in the State of Chiapas, had made its way down around Bella Vista. It’s been almost a year since the area has become less secure, and unfortunately, folks in this region must still tread carefully to ensure their safety. You might be wondering, is it helpful to keep buying coffee from the area given the current situation?
THE MAYAN HARVEST MICROMILL IN BELLA VISTA
The remote community of Bella Vista has grown coffee trees for many decades, but it wasn’t recognized as a specialty coffee-producing region. Farmers didn’t have access to resources to inform them about their coffee quality or how to improve it. So, they had no choice but to trust predatory middlemen who told them their coffees were low quality and justified paying them lower prices. That all changed when Rosalba Cifuentes Tovia founded Mayan Harvest Coffee. She knew that coffees from her childhood community were delicious and was curious why she rarely saw Mexican coffee featured in specialty coffee shops. She returned to Bella Vista, reconnected with long-lost family members, and learned how coffee was processed and sold in the area.
With the help of her family, Rosalba built a micromill in town and began purchasing coffee from farmers. Although she had higher quality standards than other buyers in the area, she paid higher prices for these well-sorted coffees. If a farmer’s coffee is rejected, the Mayan Harvest team will tell them why and how to improve. The farmer then has the choice to sort their coffee to resubmit for evaluation and purchase. Although Rosalba was initially met with caution, she gained the trust of farmers and the community when she consistently paid farmers higher prices. As more and more farmers came to Mayan Harvest to sell their coffees, other coffee were encouraged to raise their paying prices, allowing farmers to gain more for their hard-earned work.
EUGENIO AND FROILAN, ROSALBA’S UNCLE AND COUSIN, CUPPING COFFEE. DURING OUR FIRST VISIT IN 2019 WITH ROYAL COFFEE IMPORTERS, MAYAN HARVEST& ROYAL HOSTED A CUPPING FOR FARMERS TO SHOW THEM HOW COFFEE IS EVALUATED. THIS YEAR WE PURCHASED COFFEE DIRECTLY FROM MAYAN HARVEST.
During the first few years of operation, Rosalba noticed that women farmers consistently produced cleaner coffees. This was no easy task, especially since, in Bella Vista, women were still responsible for maintaining housework and caring for their children. To recognize them for their efforts, Rosalba separated the women-grown coffees and paid women even higher prices to match their quality. She started a women’s group to provide women farmers with more support. The group is divided into chapters based on region, and the chapters meet monthly to share ideas and discuss best practices. Any woman farmer is welcome to join the women’s group if they have a farm registered under their name and regularly attend meetings.
Since organized crime developed in Bella Vista this last year, it’s hard to say how often the women’s group can meet, but they maintain regular communication as often as possible. While some families have decided to abandon their farms and move to safer towns and cities, many still rely on farming for their livelihood and don’t have the means to leave. So, they have no other choice but to live with crime. While Rosalba is concerned about her own safety and that of her team, she is even more committed to continuing their operations as carefully as possible. Rosalba said, “Who am I to leave just because I have the option to, but so many of them are still here? Where will will they go?”
meeting with some members of the women’s group during our visit in february 2020
At first, the Mayan Harvest team worried that quality would diminish. Few seasonal workers were available to pick coffee cherries due to the security conditions in Bella Vista. But as the coffees came in, they began to relax, as the quality stayed the same. This coffee produced by the Bella Vista Women’s Group is versatile: it has a soft, citrus acidity, a caramel-y body like piloncillo (Mexican unrefined cane sugar), and a sweet aftertaste that reminds us of vanilla. With a coarser grind, this coffee becomes juicier and lighter-bodied, and with a finer grind, the body becomes more syrupy and has sweet, nutty notes while retaining its brightness.
It’s been a tough year, but Rosalba expresses her sincerest thanks for the support she and the Bella Vista community have received from coffee roasters and everyone who buys their coffee to enjoy. Every purchase counts and impacts the community, and they will put in every effort to continue producing quality coffee for years to come.
