Finca Chelín
CountryMexico
RegionCandelaria, Oaxaca
FarmChelín
Altitude1500 – 1780 m
Size of the farm50 ha
Enrique López Aguilar talks about his life as a coffee farmer:
“Coffee cultivation began in 1910 in Candelaria Loxicha, Oaxaca. Over time, my parents, Jaime and Graciela, purchased farms in Chiapas, marking the start of another chapter in coffee farming. In 2000, after my father passed away, I went to the farms to learn about growing specialty coffee and gave myself a year to understand the harvesting process. I knew nothing about coffee and didn’t even drink it. I was 33 years old when I started reading extensively about coffee, its history, and how it was processed in different parts of the world. I discovered that fermentation offered endless possibilities.
I continued working on the farms Santa Cruz and Las Nubes and became a Q Grader. I won several competitions for the best organic coffee and received multiple Cup of Excellence awards. In 2012, I left the farms in Chiapas and decided to establish my own farm in Oaxaca, specifically in Candelaria, my mother’s hometown. From then on, I have focused exclusively on producing specialty coffees in micro-lots.”
At the beginning, it was an abandoned estate that Enrique purchased and began to renovate. Gradually, he started planting varieties he knew to be of high quality and, with proper soil management, could become tolerant and resistant to rust. The flavors that emerge in his coffees are citrusy and floral, thanks to the processes used for coffee fermentation and processing on the farm. While developing new flavors, they ensure the original and foundational flavors remain intact. At Chelín farm, the primary focus is on achieving clean finishes in the aftertaste.
“The advantage of the farm is that I can replicate everything I learned in Chiapas on a smaller scale, giving me greater control over producing what I call ‘clean coffee.’”
Enrique also notes that the farm has not yet reached full production, but with proper nutrition and hard work, it is getting closer to meeting its production goals.
We collaborated with Enrique for the 2022 World Barista Championship, and the way he cultivates coffee and communicates with clients is incredibly professional. His coffee is truly unique, and its complex processing reflects this.
About the coffee
We visit Enrique and Alejandro every year during the harvest. The farm is kept very simple, as the entire focus during harvest season is on coffee, and everything else takes a back seat.
During the harvest, Alejandro roasts samples to maintain complete control over the processes, and coffee is tasted throughout the day in many forms—on the cupping table, as espresso, and as filter coffee. Enrique believes that if we truly want to understand how coffee tastes, cupping alone is not enough, as very few end customers will actually taste these coffees through a cupping session. The only thing that truly matters is the final customer’s taste experience. Therefore, every lot must be tasted both as espresso and as filter coffee.
After the demanding and highly controlled harvest and lengthy drying processes, the López family dedicates themselves to educating farmers and running courses for other producers. In doing so, they contribute to improving and expanding knowledge about specialty coffee processing in Mexico.
Enrique is renowned across Mexico as a visionary in the world of specialty coffee, and we are endlessly honored to work with him and to be chosen by Enrique as one of his few importers.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
