Onyx - mexico eber olivera baltazar gesha (Pre Order - roasts Jan 8)

Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s renowned coffee regions, is celebrated for its diverse terrain and vibrant coffee heritage. In the biodiverse Sierra Norte, Eber Olivera Baltazra crafts an exceptional Gesha on his small farm using agroecological innovation. This lot, marked by meticulous care from harvest to drying, is a rare offering that has journeyed beyond Mexico to the United States for the first time.

We have had Oaxaca as an area of focus for our sourcing program since 2019. Outside of the rich and multi-textural city, Oaxaca state produces some of our favorite cup profiles in Mexico to date. This coffee from Eber Olivera takes the cake of the pinnacle of our offerings from Mexico so far.

Oaxaca is one of México’s fifteen coffee-producing states. From Oaxaca’s eight coffee-producing regions, Azahar has started relationships with producers in three, called La Mixteca, Sierra Sur, and Sierra Norte.
Villa Talea de Castro belongs to the administrative district of Villa Alta, in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca. Lo- cated four hours away from the state capital, this is one of the most biodiverse areas due to its geograph- ical and climatic conditions. Coffee is a significant agricultural product in the area. The trees benefit from the region's rainfall, which lasts for about 8 months, totaling over 1500 mm per year, and temperatures not exceeding 26°C. This Single Farm lot from Talea de Castro was crafted by Eber Olivera Baltazra. A native of the area who has become a leader throughout the community, supporting neighboring producers and helping bring their coffees to market in Oaxaca City. While most of Eber’s award-winning coffee stays within Mexico, where he’s created a name and following for his coffee, this is a part of a small separation that has made its way to the United States for the first time.

This Gesha variety is grown on his small plot of land where he practices agroecological techniques. The cherries are selected ripe, first fermented in the fruit for 24 hours, before being pulped and fer- mented in tanks for an additional 36 hours. The coffee is dried on raised beds for 10-15 days before the parchment is trucked to the dry mill in Oaxaca City.