Mexico Santuario Ixhuatlán Anaerobic - Espresso

Ixhuatlán del Café serves as the heart of the Santuario Project in Mexico, featuring a fully integrated processing facility that includes wet and dry mills, greenhouses, drying areas, a coffee garden, laboratory, and warehouse—all dedicated to achieving the highest quality standards.

At the Ixhuatlán centre, small producers from Veracruz collaborate to produce and isolate only the most exceptional coffee lots, which are then processed under the expert guidance of the Santuario project’s processing managers.

Quality begins at the farm level, where Brix measurements, selective picking, thorough cleaning, and meticulous cherry sorting are key factors in ensuring top-notch coffee. Cherries are harvested at different ripeness stages, depending on the processing method, to help control and enhance the final cup quality.

In the processing centre, every stage of post-harvest is monitored closely in the state-of-the-art, impeccably clean facilities. This allows precise control of fermentation, ensuring consistent and stable results. Each lot is slowly shade-dried on African beds, with fans and extractors used to maintain optimal temperature and humidity throughout the process. The result is an exceptionally clean coffee with great clarity and a long, smooth finish.

Cherries are harvested once they reach 24 Brix and are soaked for 2 hours. The initial fermentation lasts 72 hours using Mossto, followed by depulping, leaving 20% mucilage on the seeds. A second fermentation with Mossto takes place for 48 hours. Afterward, the cherries are sun-dried on African beds for 22 days, followed by a 6-day shade rest for final humidity stabilization.