“This lively coffee offers hints of candied peach, bergamot, pecan, and cocoa.’’

Third-generation coffee producer Ernesto Perez operates Finca Fatima in the Coatepec municipality of Veracruz, Mexico. His grandfather purchased the farm originally despite the land being considered “high risk” for coffee farming due to its high elevation and frequent frosts. Finca Fatima sits proudly as one of the highest coffee farms in the region at 1,250 meters above sea level, contributing to the quality of its coffee today.

Ernesto has invested in bringing his farm into the future by fully renovating it with new plants, diversifying varieties, and maintaining a shaded environment for his production. This vision focuses not only on coffee quality, but also on soil preservation, carbon sequestration, and retaining and improving local biodiversity.

Ernesto is certified with both Q Grading and Q Processing certificates, helping him to improve his coffees as well as working with other producers in his area. He sought out other young coffee producers who share in his enthusiasm for reviving specialty coffee in Coatepec, and now partners with six different producers to process their cherries in his wet mill. All coffees processed at his mill go through standardized and rigorous quality control, sorting, processing, and grading before being packed and shipped.