Overview

El Zapote is located at 1550 meters above sea level, in the north face of the fabulous San Vicente Volcano, also known as “Chichontepeque”, which in Nahuatl, the indigenous language used before the colony period, means “Double humped mountain”. Jeremías Iglesias bought this land in 1920, now it belongs to Gladys Durán and her two sons, David and Roberto Iglesias Durán, which are fourth generation of coffee entrepreneurs. Roberto is also the general manager of the farm and its mill.

Thirty-eight out of the forty-four hectares of El Zapote’s extension produce high quality shade grown coffee and remaining five produce bananas and other fruits. The coffee varieties you can find in the farm include Typica, Bourbon, Pacas, Catuai and Pacamara, but the lot selected to participate in this year’s Cup of Excellence was a Bourbon/Pacamara blend, which was carefully hand-picked, depulped, washed and sun-dried, each stage being supervised by the owners to ensure the programs standards. Also an important part of this farm’s high quality coffee is the careful pruning (every other three years according to the coffee plantation age) and shade trees under which coffee is produced.

El Zapote´s biodiversity population is lush and includes native birds, small mammals, reptiles, butterflies, insects and many exotic plants and flowers. The beauty of it merited the construction of a sightseeing station with an open door policy to all hiking and mountain biking enthusiasts who respect nature and biodiversity conservation. Many boy scouts and school students have already enjoyed a stay in El Zapote, and everyone is welcome to do the same.

In 2008, the farm qualified for a CO2 reduce emission government program (Carbon neutral coffee) to alleviate debts and obtain a bonus for complying 4 such innovative program. One of their projects is to install a complete first aid station for the workers, their families and the people that visit the farm.

It’s important to mention that this is the first time a farm from the “Chichontepec Mountain Range” has won at a Cup of Excellence program, so this family of producers is extremely proud and acknowledges the challenge this represents to keep up the hard work to improve quality so people from all over the world can appreciate the unique flavours from this region.

Additional information
Location: Cantón Loma Alta, Tepetitán
Coffee varieties: Bourbón, Pacamara, Catuai, Pacas
Type of Shade: Ingas: Cujes, Pepetos.
Average Annual Rainfall: 1,800 mm
Average Temperature: 22º C
Type of Soil: Sandy loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 613 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio Montealegre, UNEX S.A. de C.V.
Other crops: Mango, Avocado tree. Fauna: Migratory and local birds, raccoons, armadillos, etc.

GPS Coordinates
Latitude: 13º 36’ 37.3” N
Longitude: 88º 50’ 46.3” W