Finca ITZAE
For 3 years now, the ITZAE estate innovates in coffee processing methods with a dual objective: propose a new coffee cultivation in Mexico reinforced by roasting at origin, and improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of a remote region.
The ITZAE estate is located in the hills near Ocozocoautla in Chiapas, 1200 meters above sea level, a region with a strong Aztec heritage.
This remote area was severely affected by the very strong earthquake of September 7, 2017. The estate gives it a chance to come back to life.
Catimor and Yellow Bourbon varieties are organically grown in harmony with the local ecosystem on this very promising mountainous land of 60 hectares.
At the heart of the estate’s vision is the idea of a new path that is moving away from the Mexican coffee industry that focuses on producing a standardized green coffee for export.
By rediscovering a craft and qualitative culture and switching to roasting at origin, Mexican coffee enters a new era through this project that brings together all the activities of the seed to the cup.
Jorge Mandujano Muñiz, the originator of the project, launched 5 years ago a family company in Mexico City in order to offer an exceptional roasted coffee that is 100% Mexican.
Unable to control the quality of his coffee with roasting alone, he quickly realized that he had to go upstream up the coffee cultivation by creating an estate allowing a qualitative intervention from the very start. In this logic, the ITZAE domain was born, involving the motivated local population, rebuilding itself in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Trained on the best farming and harvesting practices, under the auspices of the Estate Manager, Fabián Vazquez, and Omar Hernandez, coffee farmer, all stakeholders are making a contribution to adopt a handcrafted and qualitative approach.
The strength of the estate is the mastery of the various techniques of fermentation and processing of the beans, especially the honey method that it proposes in three declensions.
