Mexican Chiapas H/g E/p Fair Trade Organic Coffee Beans (Medium Roast (Full City +), 2.5 Pounds Whole Beans)

Mexico's diverse geography, from the soaring altitudes of the country's four mountain ranges to the beautiful coastal regions along the Pacific, supports diverse farming practices and a broad variety of crops. Chiapas is the country's southernmost state, home to the Sierra Madre de Chiapas Mountain range. To its west are the coffee growing regions of Oaxaca and Vera Cruz, but it is the beans of Guatemala's Huehuetenango region, directly to the east, with which Chiapas coffee shares so much character. Farmers in Chiapas have begun a transition back to organic farming techniques as a way to achieve self-sufficiency and to create sustainability for their communities. The continued development of a network of Fair Trade farmers' cooperatives is helping local people slowly improve their quality of life. The state of Chiapas is located in the Sierra Madre Mountains and receives the perfect combination of rainfall and sunshine to create this strictly high grown bean. This particular organic, fairly traded, shade grown, and bird friendly coffee is served in finer restaurants throughout Mexico. In 1996, just 4 short years after forming, the Mexican government awarded the cooperative the National Ecological Prize for environmental stewardship. Roasting Notes: Light to medium body with mild acidity and balanced, with delicate fruit and spice overtones. A hard bean that takes a dark roast well. I would use this coffee in French or Italian roasts but also cups well in the City - Full City range. Chiapas, the tropical jungle that is the most southern eastern part of Mexico, borders with Guatemala. Chiapas is the coffee little brother of Guatemala's Hue Hue Tenango region, and this comes through in the cup. Chiapian coffees are brighter, sweeter, with a definite clove spice to compliment the apricot fruit that is in the cup.