Since 2022, we have been supporting a young organic cooperative on its path to self-determination with the Toca Project in the Sierra de Zongolica. In 2024, the producers took major steps: They built a microbeneficio, now process their coffee cherries centrally, and are continuously improving quality. Through a co-investment, we evolved from buyers to partners – the potential is enormous, and sustainable change is possible.
Mexico
Toca. Coffee with Impact
More resilient ecosystems
What is this project about?
Mexico is a special coffee country. It has preserved a great deal of biodiversity, and much of its coffee grows in forests, like its original ancestor in Africa.
While many countries rely on monocultures, agrochemicals, and high yields, indigenous communities in Mexico continue to produce crops in diverse polyculture systems. They produce less but better food in sustainable ecosystems.
But climate change is also affecting them: coffee rust, extreme heat, and rain are causing crop failures and reducing quality. Previous solutions, such as the use of chemicals or cultivation at higher altitudes, are not long-term solutions. The only answer lies in more resilient ecosystems.
The project in the region around Zongolica (Veracruz) is a collaboration between Nahua coffee producers, Ensambles Cafes Mexicanos, the coffee makers, and the Black Hen roastery in Saarbrücken.
The goal is to transition from conventional agriculture to regenerative practices. The goal is to strengthen soils, stabilize temperatures, and protect water – without synthetic inputs.
The El Equimite Ensambles farm in Coatepec serves as a laboratory. Permaculture and biodynamic methods are tested there and then implemented in the project.
The group in Zongolica benefits from Ensambles' many years of expertise. Lalo, a producer and agronomist himself, is the contact between Ensambles and Citlal Kaffeen. He is part of the cooperative and available as a daily contact person.
"We believe the solution lies in resilient ecosystems. But creating them is not an easy task."
Toca Project
Milestones
What was a loose idea in a conversation between Gibran and Philipp in 2017 became a project that the producers are proud of and see a future in.
Start of organic certification in 2025
Half of the cooperative members are ready for organic certification in spring 2026.
Founding of the cooperative in 2024
As a group, Citlal Kaffen is now efficient in administration and has expanded market access.
Commissioning of the wet mill in 2024
The cooperative now processes the coffee cherries itself and dries them on its own patio for full control.
"I've never seen a group of producers with this drive, this level-headedness, and this motivation."
Toca - Espresso and coffee from Mexico
No other coffee has as much impact as this one. It comes from our Tlapajti project in Mexico, which supports a small cooperative on its journey to self-determined, sustainable coffee production . The coffee has a syrupy body, notes of dark chocolate, rock candy, and citrus acidity.
Toca - Green Coffee Information
Taste: Dark chocolate, rock candy, citrus
Origin: Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz, Mexico
Producer : Citlal Coffee Cooperative
Varieties: Guernica, Typica, Bourbon, Catimores
Post-harvest process: pulped, fermented with water, washed
Arrived at the roastery: annually in August/September
This is how we would prepare the Toca
Tell me more about Toca
The official name of the project in Mexico itself is " Tlapajti " means " those who heal" in the local Nahuátl language spoken in the project region. The name came from a producer within the community itself. She said that they were now healing Mother Earth and therefore were "Tlapajti." In spring 2022, we launched the Tlapajti project in Mexico with Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos.
What is the Toca project about?
First, a cooperative was founded , which was reconstituted in 2024. Now, ensembles are in the process of bringing the producers to organic certification. The first producers achieved organic certification in spring 2025. In 2024, we founded a microbeneficio with the producers, ensembles, and our friends from the Black Hen roastery and set it up as a co-investment . The microbeneficio is a coffee processing facility. The producers built it and now operate it themselves. They can now offer the processing service to other producers in the region, diversifying their activities. The next step is the gradual construction of a small biofactory , where the cooperative will produce its own organic fertilizer.
Why does coffee taste the way it does?
The coffees from the Zongolica region are medium to full-bodied. The area around the Apixtepec community, where the producers live, is often immersed in rain clouds that are pushed inland from the Atlantic. It is often cool, and the coffees ripen slowly. This slow growth gives the coffee its complexity, a delicate citrus acidity , and a high base sweetness . The soft texture comes from the careful selection of the cherries.
How do we roast this coffee?
We roast the Toca as a 30 kg batch in our roaster, so we use the drum to its full potential. With a 15-minute roasting time, this coffee is one of our longest roasts . This way, we emphasize the more classic notes like rock candy. The development time is 15%. We start with a soak , leaving the gas at minimum for 1 minute before increasing the power to 70%. After that, we let the coffee and the roaster do their work, only intervening again at the 10-minute mark and gradually reducing the gas.
How do we describe Toca?
Get coffee details at Beanconqueror
Pickup available at Kaffeemacher:innen
Usually ready in 24 hours
Toca, espresso from Mexico
250 g
Kaffeemacher:innen
Otto-Lilienthal-Straße 13
46539 Dinslaken
Germany