Sakubel: “Amanecer” (Dawn) in the Tseltal Indigenous language
In the fertile lands of Los Altos de Chiapas, Sakubel is born — a coffee that pays tribute to each sunrise and to the tireless spirit of a group of Tseltal producers who face the daily challenge of caring for their crops, tilling the land, and protecting their territories.
This lot represents the work of farming families from the communities of Tenejapa, Chenalhó, and Oxchuc, encompassing several generations of producers between 25 and 60 years old, whose livelihoods are deeply rooted in family-based agriculture.
Agriculture in Los Altos de Chiapas holds a special character, preserving traditional practices such as the mountain or “rusticano” system. In this model, coffee trees grow under the protective shade of native and fruit trees, allowing them to develop in harmony with the environment.
These ancestral techniques strengthen resilience against diseases like leaf rust (la roya), promote biodiversity conservation, and generate environmental benefits that sustain the economies of the Indigenous communities responsible for caring for these agroecological ecosystems.
Coffee plantations also coexist with the traditional milpa system, where corn, beans, squash, quelites (edible greens), chili, and other vegetables are intercropped, supporting food security and soil health.
*The Los Altos de Chiapas region faces numerous challenges in coffee production: water scarcity and contamination, difficult road access, limited market opportunities, labor migration, and poor management of plantations.
*Since 2012, coffee leaf rust has severely affected farms, particularly those at lower altitudes, forcing producers to adopt more resistant varieties.
*Additionally, deforestation has reduced water infiltration, causing shortages in certain areas of Chiapas.
*The temporary migration of heads of households to northern Mexico, the Riviera Maya, or the United States — mainly to work in construction or vegetable harvesting — has led women to take on leadership roles in their homes and farms. Together with their children, they sustain coffee and milpa cultivation, strengthening their skills through family, community, institutional, and private support networks. In this way, coffee growing in the region continues thanks to family labor and resilience.
In 2022, we discovered Los Altos de Chiapas, a region primarily inhabited by Tseltal and Tzotzil Indigenous communities. It is well recognized in the specialty coffee industry for its ideal altitudes and the cultivation of traditional varieties like Typica and Bourbon, which bring great complexity to the cup.
Our team leads fieldwork year-round, training coffee producers in sustainable agronomic practices, harvest and post-harvest processes, and environmentally responsible production systems.
During the harvest season, coffees are evaluated in cupping labs located both in Oaxaca and at our main facility in Coatepec, Veracruz. Through this process, producers receive quality scores for their coffees, which enhances their bargaining power and provides personalized recommendations to improve their crops in future harvests.
During the collection season, strategic warehouses are also set up to consolidate raw material and shorten distances between producers and buyers.
