Curve Coffee – Saul Cerqueda

Oaxaca is the main geographical area of RM’s work in Mexico as there is little support or formal coffee infrastructure in Oaxaca. Farms are isolated and widespread and because of this Oaxacan production yields are some of the lowest in Mexico. The main areas of focus are improving production yields by training, building demonstrative fields, and improving soil health while raising coffee quality, and building stable demand and access to speciality market by connecting roasters with producers.

To achieve these goals, in 2020 RM focused on meeting producers, building trust and setting a baseline for coffee pricing and pre-financing. This is done by paying a base price at the market level upon reception of the coffee, followed by second payment based on cup quality bringing the final price to 1.5 -2 times of the standard market rate. This is expected to increase to up to 5 times the standard price for some lots as overall quality improves. Paying in this way provides rapid, predictable returns on investment made by producers.

In future, RM are also planning to work with the Oaxacan associations to develop more communal infrastructure (e.g. centralised composting systems), expand their operation in Chiapas region as well as identify potential projects for roasters to support directly.