Collab | Escape coffee roaster

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Takata collab.

It's time to wake up!

Speciality coffee, to save biodiversity.

We are launching a Mexican coffee to support Takata's Coral Reef restauration program in Mahahual, Mexico.

Part of the profits will go towards restoring several hectares of degraded reef by transplanting coral colonies reared in underwater incubation gardens or nurseries.

Takata's Coral Reef restauration program.

Takata's coral reef restoration program proposes active restoration as a complement to integrated management in order to nurture a healthy and biodiverse reef. The aim of the program is to restore several hectares of degraded reef by transplanting coral colonies reared in underwater incubation gardens or nurseries. This will require the transplantation of several thousands of coral colonies which will be cloned by fragmentation. The program will also be an important pedagogical opportunity for the environmental education of Mahahual’s community.

The coral restoration technique consists of the cloning and nursery rearing of coral colonies obtained from the reef. The nurseries, or coral gardens, will be built inside the reef’s lagoon, in their natural environment but protected from the waves and other stress factors. These gardens will float mid-water at a depth of approximately 6m. The coral fragments will be obtained by two methods; by collecting fragments that naturally detach from their parent colonies and by taking them directly from healthy colonies. Collected fragments will be transplanted into a nursery, where they will develop in a controlled environment. Weekly inspections will check for possible diseases and eliminate predators as well as competitors. After a year of development in nurseries, the colonies are transplanted into sites that need intervention. The systematic monitoring of the genetic lineages of the cloned colonies will be necessary to maximize the genetic diversity of transplanted colonies. The first phase of the project will last three years and a half, during which we plan to cultivate and transplant three generations of nursery corals.

Escape's coffee, Donald.

Finca La Estancia is a family run business located in Ejido San Vicente de Benitez in the Sierra Madre del Sur in the municipality of Atoyac de Alvarez, Guerrero, Mexico, about 1,200 meters above sea level.

The farm is owned by Ejido San Vicente de Benitez who has been producing coffee since 1955. Over the past couple of years, Marco, Ejido's son, has really taken the lead in managing all marketing and outside communication around their business while his two brothers work to manage the farm practices and operations. Their coffee is dried on patios and tarpaulin and while they do not have an organic certification, they fertilize with organic material.

Marco is incredibly ambitious and has some big dreams about bringing specialty coffee to Central Guerrero, but has faced many challenges. Between Roya, the shear lack of infrastructure, and being situated in one of the most heavily cartel occupied areas in Mexico, he certainly has his work cut out for him. This lot was his first export. It showed promise.

The Mexican Coffee Revolution.

The United States of Mexico is the 8th largest producer of coffee in the world, and the largest coffee trade partner with the United States of America. 97% of the country’s coffee trees are grown under shade; in some areas (such as the State of Colima), farmers are paid 150 pesos per hectare per year for preserving shade trees. While there are 12 states which grow coffee, only a handful are known by name. Fully 80% of Mexico’s coffee is exported by four companies, and only 10-15% of the country’s exports are considered specialty.

The situation is ripe for those numbers to change. Over a century ago the Mexican Revolution rallied farmers across the nation to redistribute land and wealth. A few years ago the Cup of Excellence began inciting farmers to take an interest in the quality of their coffee. As the specialty coffee revolution spreads, expect to see new generation of flavors coming out of states other than Chiapas and Veracruz.