Sierra Mazateca is a region in the state of Oaxaca, famous for its coffee and benefits from an incredible diversity of climates, receiving currents from both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans with coffee production between 1500 and 2000m.

This altitude and cold climate results in a much later harvest (Feb to April) compared to other parts of Mexico. Cherries in Mazateca take longer to mature, resulting in a high potential for very sweet and complex coffees, but with the ever present danger of frost damage.

Coffee is the main agricultural product of the region, but low prices and poor business perspectives have drastically reduced the numbers of producers in the past 20 years. Nowadays the main income stream in Mazateca comes from the government through the salaries of the many teachers employed in the area, and subsidies to the farmers

Coffee cultivation in the region is largely organic. Producers fabricate their own organic fertilisers and all farms feature shade-grown coffees. The farms maintain a culture of minimal intervention, producers are quite reluctant towards pruning, and are proud of their 2-3 meter high, 40 year old Typica and younger Bourbon and Mundo Novo trees.

Most coffee producers in Mazateca have between 0.5 to 5 hectares of land with the average producer working on less than one hectare. This means that, as in much of Oaxaca, production is very small and yields are lower here than in other areas of the state. The Sierra Mazateca mountain range is located to the north of Oaxaca city and forms much of the state’s border with Veracruz. The region is very remote, hard to access, with many in Oaxaca not even knowing of its existence.

Raw Material have designated 'Lotecitos' as their super tasty 'teeny' lots from the impeccable Sierra Mazateca. Many producers in this very remote part of Oaxaca grow barely any coffee on their land. Some produce not even a single sack per season. However, the cup quality of these almost nominal amounts is super high.

With their in-country partner Red Beetle, Raw Material wanted to make sure that these teeny but amazing volumes made it in some tangible way to the specialty market. The resulting volume isn’t big enough to be described as a whole community’s blend, nor small enough to be considered as a one off microlot. And so, the Lotecitos (or teeny lots) were born. The Lotecitos are microlot in their super high quality, whilst being a blend of coffees from several smallholders in the region. Their cup score on purchase meant that high prices could be paid even for the low volume that each producer could provide.