EL ESTRIBO.
It’s a snake-like highway, down the south side of the massive mountain range that is the Sierra Madre Oriental.
High, enclaved in the mountaintops by the Zongolica-Xonamanca road, you can get to Nepopoalco. An old wooden sign announces the entry to the small farm, “El Estribo” (the stirrup), with an altitude between 1,250 and 1500 masl, in the beautiful state of Veracruz, Mexico.
Here, the family Altamirano only produces roughly 50-60 coffee quintales every year. – Let’s remember, 1 quintal, equals 250K of fresh picked coffee cherries, or 57.5K parchment coffee.. in green coffee, this would mean approximately 46K, per quintal.- You get the idea, this is a rather small production.
Don Adán and his son, Samuel Altamirano have had their fair share of challenges; rust, national price drop and personal strains, but in true Mexican style, in adversity, they strive… and how they do!. In 2014 they became the proud holders of the first place for Mexico’s Cup of Excellence, along with a Presidential Award, getting a record shattering score of 91.59 for one of their lots.
They first introduced the Gesha variety in the farm in the last decade, in this selection, you’ll get to taste in the mix some of this truly remarkable beans.
