México Juan Verdugo

Highlights

“Juan Verdugo has farmed coffee past seventy and still walks his own terraces, in Azteca, one of the most remote Maya Mam communities above Tapachula in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. Shade trees slow the ripening and house the birds and insects that do the pest control, so the plot runs organic with no agrochemicals, and everything dries in the sun and wind alone. On a trip to Mexico Animal tasted the lot, bought the whole harvest of Juan and his wife María through Etic Hub, and pays them directly: Bourbon and Caturra at 1,900 m, washed, scored 85, roasted medium for espresso and filter. Candied pear, mild citrus, marzipan, chocolate.”