Finca Chelín
Enrique López Aguilar talks about his life as a farmer: “Coffee growing began in 1910 in Candelaria Loxicha in Oaxaca. Over time, my parents, Jaime and Graciela, bought farms in Chiapas and from there began another story of coffee growing. In 2000, when my father died, I went to the farms to learn how to grow choice coffee and took a year to learn how to harvest coffee. I knew nothing and didn’t even drink it, I was 33 years old at the time and I started reading a lot of books about coffee, its history and how it was processed in different parts of the world. I learned that you can do a lot of things in fermentation, and I went on to work on the Santa Cruz and Las Nubes farms and became a Q Grader. I have won many competitions for best organic coffee and several Cup of Excellence awards. In 2012 I left the farms in Chiapas and decided to start my own farm in Oaxaca, specifically in Candelaria, where my mother is from. Since then, I have been focusing only on the production of select coffees in micro-lot.”
We visit Enriquen and Alejandro every year during the harvest. The farm is very simply set up, because during the harvest the whole farm is fully focused on the coffee and everything else goes on the back burner.
Alejandro roasts the samples during the harvest so they have complete control over the processes, and in fact the coffee is tasted in many forms all day long. For cupping, for espresso, for filter. Enrique says that if we want to know what the coffee really tastes like, cupping is not enough because very few end clients will actually taste these coffees on the cupping. And the only thing that matters here is the taste of the end customer. So you need to taste each lot on both the espresso and the filter.
After a difficult and highly controlled harvest and long drying processes, the Lopezes dedicate themselves to farmer education and courses for other producers. In this way, they have been instrumental in improving and expanding the knowledge of the processing of fine coffees in Mexico.
Enrique is known throughout Mexico as a great visionary of choice coffee and we are endlessly honored to work with him and that Enrique has chosen us as one of his few importers.
COUNTRY
Mexico
LOCATION
Candelaria, Oaxaca
FARM
Finca Chelín
ALTITUDE
1500 – 1780 m
SIZE OF THE FARM
50 ha
COFFEE TREE VARIETIES
Geisha 50 %, Bourbon Rosado 20 %, Typica 10 %, Maragogype and 5 % SL 28, Obata, Anacafe 14 etc.
ABOUT THE FARM
At the beginning was an abandoned farmhouse, which Enrique bought and began to renovate. Gradually, he began to plant varieties that he already knew were of very high quality and that, with proper care of the soil, would become tolerant and resistant to rust. The flavors that emerge in the coffees are citrus and floral, thanks to the processes by which the coffee is processed and fermented on the farm. It develops new flavors, but without losing the original and basic flavors. Above all, at the Chelín farm, the focus is on purity in the aftertaste.
“The advantage of the farm is that on a small scale I am copying everything I learned in Chiapas and I have more control over the production of so-called pure coffee.”
Enrique adds that the farm is not yet reaching full production, but thanks to good nutrition and good work, it is close to the production he expects. We worked with Enrique for the 2022 Barista World Championship and the way Enrique grows the coffee and continues to communicate with clients is very professional. His coffee is truly unique and the intricate processing process matches that.
ABOUT THE LOTS
MX-23-059 Chelin Týpica lavado
Variety: Typica
Processing: Washed with carbonic maceration for 48 hours.
Description: One night we let the coffee rest in the cherries and the next morning we remove the pulp. Then we let it ferment for 48 hours in carbonic maceration. After this time, rinse it lightly and let the coffee dry.
Harvest: From January to April.
MX-23-060 Chelin Týpica honey
Variety: Typica
Processing: Honey with fermentation.
Description: One night we let the coffee rest in the cherries, the next day we pulp it and ferment it as if it were washed coffee, after 36 hours of fermentation we take it to the terrace without rinsing and start drying it.
Harvest: From January to April.
MX-23-061 Chelin Týpica black honey
Variety: Typica
Processing: Black honey with double fermentation.
Description: We leave the cherries in the carbonic maceration for 4 nights, only on the second night we refresh the cherries with water in order to prolong the fermentation of the cherries and prevent the occurrence of high temperatures in the tanks, during which unwanted alcoholic fermentation occurs. Then we clean the coffee and take it to dry.
Harvest: from January to April.
MX-23-062 Chelin Týpica natural
Variety: Typica
Processing: Natural with 3-day carbonic maceration
Description: We let the cherries rest for 3 nights in carbonic maceration and the next morning we take them to the terrace, where we start drying them.
Harvest: From January to April.
MX-23-063 Chelin Geisha Hydron. washed
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Hydronatural Washed.
Description: We let the coffee rest in the cherries for one night and the next morning we remove the skins and let it ferment for 48 hours in carbonic maceration. After this time, we rinse it lightly and take it to dry. After two to three days of drying, we return it to the fermentation tanks and immerse it in water, where it spends one night, and the next morning we take it out and dry it on the terrace.
Harvest: from January to April.
MX-23-064 Chelin Geisha Hydron. natural
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Hydronatural Natural.
Description: We let the cherry rest for one or two nights and the next morning we take it to the terrace to dry. After two to three days of drying, we return it to the mill and immerse it in water, where it spends one night. The next morning we put her back on the drying patio.
Harvest: from January to April.
MX-23-065 Chelin Geisha Honey
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Honey with pulp.
Description: We let the coffee rest in the cherries for one or two nights, the next day we clean the coffee in a wet mill and ferment it as if it were washed coffee, after 36 hours of fermentation we take it to the terrace without rinsing and start drying.
Harvest: From January to April.
MX-23-066 Chelin Geisha black honey
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Black honey.
Description: We let the coffee rest in the cherries in carbonic maceration for two nights, the next morning the coffee is cleaned from the skin. The flesh is left. The coffee is then taken to the terrace where the drying process begins.
Harvest: January to April.
