Exploradores

Young Yong Lee

Las Cascadas · Motozintla, Chiapas, Mexico

Young Yong Lee arrived in the United States after the Korean War and built his fortune from scratch. Convinced that education is the path to development, he opened the Ichtus high school in Comitán, Chiapas, with his own money and tuition almost fully subsidized. Today it also has a primary and a middle school and about 300 students; to sustain it, Mr. Lee started two businesses, one of them a coffee farm. On his farms, children are cared for in on-site daycares while their parents harvest — something almost unheard of in rural Mexico — and it's all certified organic.

The process · Washed, soaked in waterAfter pulping, the beans are submerged in clean water for 24 hours. In the cup: rounder acidity and clean sweetness — the water tempers the fermentation.

The farm & its terroirMotozintla — Tsotsil for “hill of squirrels” — sits in the Sierra Mariscal, on the mountain range shared by Chiapas and Guatemala, two hours from Tapachula. Pine-oak forest with sweetgum, cedar and tree ferns; puma, deer, peccary and flying squirrels live here.

Young Yong Lee

Chicharras · Ángel Albino Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico

Young Yong Lee arrived in the United States after the Korean War and built his fortune from scratch. Convinced that education is the path to development, he founded the Ichtus school in Comitán, Chiapas, with tuition almost fully subsidized; coffee is one of the businesses that keeps it running.

The process · WashedThe cherry is pulped and the mucilage fully removed before drying. In the cup: clean and transparent — acidity and variety read clearly, without layers of fermented fruit.

The farm & its terroirÁngel Albino Corzo (formerly Jaltenango) lies in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, in the buffer zone of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve — home to the quetzal, the horned guan, the jaguar and 400+ bird species. Farms between 1,300 and 1,700 m live wrapped in fog, which slows ripening and concentrates sugar. “Chicharras” are the cicadas whose song fills the dusk at the end of the dry season.

Rafael Beristáin

La Ermita · Totutla, Veracruz, Mexico

The Beristáin family has grown coffee for generations, but specialty coffee is new for Rafael. In Totutla, cherries are usually sold by volume to big exporters; Rafael decided to process his own coffee carefully enough to reach buyers who pay fairly for the effort. He started learning from YouTube videos and later sought out professionals like Dr. Itzel Morales, with whom he studies the microorganisms in his soil.

The process · Mountain Water decafThe green coffee is decaffeinated with spring water, no chemical solvents. In the cup: keeps the origin profile without the caffeine; slightly lighter body.

The farm & its terroirTotutla — Nahuatl for “place of birds” — sits on the slopes of Pico de Orizaba, halfway along the coffee route between Córdoba and Xalapa. The family has four farms here, with polyculture, responsible fertilizer use and Rainforest Alliance certification.

Samuel Ronzón & Gloria

La Joya · Ixhuacán, Veracruz, Mexico

Samuel is a third-generation coffee grower from Veracruz. He moved to Tijuana as a young man but came back to promote tourism and reconnect with coffee. With his wife Gloria, who is doing a PhD in coffee ecology and biotechnology, he founded La Joya: a farm built on science to make coffee that is profitable, sustainable and fair. They grow eleven varieties chosen for cup potential rather than yield, process everything in their own micro-mill, and keep more than 50% of the value of every kilo on the farm and with its people.

The process · Washed, extended fermentation144 hours of controlled fermentation and oxidation before washing and drying on raised beds.

Julio César Madrid

Finca Milán · Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia

Julio César Madrid Tisnés is a third-generation grower; his father bought Finca Milán more than 40 years ago. The farm, in Vereda El Hogar outside Pereira, covers 250 hectares — 220 of them coffee — on volcanic soil, where days reach 30 °C and nights drop to 15 °C. With Julio Andrés Quiceno he co-founded Café UBA, an alliance of the family farms Milán, La Riviera and Buenos Aires. He grows more than 20 varieties, including rarities like Sudan Rume and Laurina, and is known for fermenting in tanks where oxygen is replaced with nitrogen; his daughter María Antonia, a biologist, researches how starter cultures shape flavor.

The process · Selected-microorganism fermentationAfter floating, cherries go into stainless-steel fermenters inoculated with a specific yeast, bacterium or enzyme while parameters are monitored. In the cup: a directed, repeatable profile — the chosen microorganism sets the dominant note.

Julio César & Daniel Rodríguez

Don Neto · Amatepec, State of Mexico

Brothers who are just starting out in coffee, with a simple but elegant bean grown at 2,000 m.

The process · NaturalThe whole cherry dries with its pulp on, and the bean absorbs the fruit's sugar. In the cup: ripe fruit, high sweetness and dense body; acidity feels softer.

Alex & Diego Bermúdez

Paraíso · Piendamó, Cauca, Colombia

Diego Samuel Bermúdez is probably one of the most famous coffee producers in the world and a byword for experimental processing. Through his company, INDESTEC, he combines microbiology and engineering: in his lab he selected the microorganisms behind each flavor and built his own dehumidifier for efficient, consistent drying. His coffees have been winning competitions since 2015.

The process · Selected-microorganism fermentationCherries ferment in stainless-steel tanks inoculated with a specific yeast, bacterium or enzyme. In the cup: a directed, repeatable profile.

The farm & its terroirCauca is a mountainous region in southwest Colombia near the Ecuador border, home to the spectacled bear, the Andean condor, the wax palm and the Andean oak. Paraíso sits at 1,900 m in Piendamó.

Samuel Ronzón & Gloria

La Joya · Ixhuacán, Veracruz, Mexico

Third-generation growers who run La Joya as a science project: eleven varieties chosen for cup quality, their own micro-mill, controlled fermentations and full traceability.

The process · Natural, infusedWe asked them for notes of Papantla vanilla.

Julio César Madrid

Finca Milán · Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia

Julio César Madrid Tisnés is a third-generation grower; his father bought Finca Milán more than 40 years ago. The farm, in Vereda El Hogar outside Pereira, covers 250 hectares — 220 of them coffee — on volcanic soil, where days reach 30 °C and nights drop to 15 °C. With Julio Andrés Quiceno he co-founded Café UBA, an alliance of the family farms Milán, La Riviera and Buenos Aires. He grows more than 20 varieties, including rarities like Sudan Rume and Laurina, and is known for fermenting in tanks where oxygen is replaced with nitrogen; his daughter María Antonia, a biologist, researches how starter cultures shape flavor. For 10 Velitas, we asked him for notes of butter and coconut.

The process · Selected-microorganism fermentationThe chosen microorganism sets the dominant note.

Dr. Itzel Morales

Alma Moreno · Totutla, Veracruz, Mexico

Dr. Itzel Morales has worked with Exploradores for about six years on fermentation and post-harvest, and has worked closely with several of our producers.

The process · Natural, extended fermentation144 hours in a stainless-steel bioreactor before drying. In the cup: intense fruit and liqueur-like notes; less transparency, more character.

The farm & its terroirTotutla opens the Veracruz coffee route on the slopes of Pico de Orizaba: cloud forest, conifers and oaks with patches of rainforest. At 1,020 m, Alma Moreno gets constant morning fog that slows ripening and concentrates sugar.

Julio César Madrid

Finca Milán · Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia

Julio César Madrid Tisnés is a third-generation grower; his father bought Finca Milán more than 40 years ago. The farm, in Vereda El Hogar outside Pereira, covers 250 hectares — 220 of them coffee — on volcanic soil, where days reach 30 °C and nights drop to 15 °C. With Julio Andrés Quiceno he co-founded Café UBA, an alliance of the family farms Milán, La Riviera and Buenos Aires. He grows more than 20 varieties, including rarities like Sudan Rume and Laurina, and is known for fermenting in tanks where oxygen is replaced with nitrogen; his daughter María Antonia, a biologist, researches how starter cultures shape flavor.

The process · Selected-microorganism fermentationCherries ferment in inoculated stainless-steel tanks. In the cup: a directed, repeatable profile.