What do we mean when we talk about quality?

When people talk about coffee quality, they usually think of a score based on how it tastes in the cup. But at Ensambles, we believe that this idea is somewhat limited.

For us, quality is a way of thinking that includes the people, the land, the knowledge, and the work behind every coffee bean. It's a concept based on relationships, and it starts from an ethical and technical understanding of coffee—as food, as a cultural expression, and as a way to create positive change in society.

Concepción Ortiz, head of Quality Control, has been leading the process during this harvest season. Based on her experience, she shared what’s happening in the coffee-growing regions and how, with our complete vision of quality, we’re working to make sure every lot shows the best of a carefully grown coffee.

How We Adapted to an Unusual Harvest

This year, both the Quality Control teams and the Bios Terra Institute (IBT) teams travelled long distances to set up storage centres and mobile labs in the communities of Guerrero, Veracruz, Chiapas, and Oaxaca. Like in previous years, this was to be closer to the producers, since many of them live in places that are hard to reach by road.

We also decided to change the way we receive samples. Instead of waiting for pre- evaluations, we chose to accept and purchase all coffee lots. The first check we did was to make sure the moisture level was between 10% and 12%. Once the parchment (or dried cherries) was in storage, we carried out a physical analysis and cupping. This helped us understand the quality of each lot and assign it based on its characteristics.

“This strategy reflects our commitment to supporting producers during this time of crisis. It also helped us speed up the evaluation and purchasing processes, because in previous years, sometimes, by the time we informed the producer that their coffee was approved, they had already sold it elsewhere. If a coffee is defective and doesn’t fit our quality categories, the commercial team will find an appropriate market for it,” explains Concepción.

A Gradual Improvement in Quality Standards

In previous harvests, it was common to receive coffees with scores ranging from 80 to 87 points. However, in this harvest, it has been less common to find more commercial profiles, as most of the samples received have scored above 84 points. This shift reflects the growing commitment of the producing communities to improve quality standards in their processes.

In particular, within our network of producers — with whom we’ve built long-term partnerships and relationships of trust over the years — we’ve seen significant progress both in farming practices and in cup quality.

We’re especially excited about the introduction of natural process coffees from the Tlapajti group in the Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz, and from Rubén Cervantes in Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca. These cases are particularly meaningful because these producers, who have traditionally focused on washed coffees, are now experimenting with natural processes. Their decision was driven by the technical guidance we’ve provided and their openness to innovation.

Coffees That Reflect Their Environment

In terms of sensory attributes, this harvest once again brings us a rich and diverse profiles, making our offering very interesting. Concepción points out that during cupping sessions, they’ve identified flavour profiles with notes of dried fruits, plenty of peach, cardamom, hints of florals, as well as citrus like lemon and orange, along with a wide range of yellow and red fruits, and fig.

We know that post-harvest processes play a key role in the final cup quality, but there are earlier, less visible factors that also shape a coffee’s profile. One of them is the environment in which it grows: many of our coffee trees thrive in polyculture and agroforestry systems, surrounded by fruit trees that, in some way, pass on part of their essence. It’s in that coexistence — that quiet exchange between species — where a complexity of flavours is born, making these coffees special.

Concepción explains it clearly: our coffees are less “stressed.” Unlike monocultures, where plants are constantly exposed to direct sunlight—putting strain on the development of the bean—in our lots, the coffee cherry grows alongside other plants. It shares its space with vegetation that protects, nourishes, and shelters it.

“The coffee our producers grow is always surrounded by other plants. Birds and other species also come into these spaces, creating a more vibrant ecosystem. All of this has an impact and shows up in the cup—resulting in a more beautiful coffee, one that absorbs more from its environment in a natural way. It’s not a coffee forced to grow, like those cultivated on farms with little vegetation,” the cupper notes.

Preserve quality, honour the origin

We are known for doing careful work, paying close attention—especially to protecting the coffee beans. Taking care of coffee also means respecting the people who grew and harvested it before it reached us. We are committed to maintaining that same level of care through every step of the process. Concepción explains that the goal is to protect the quality from the very beginning: We taste each lot carefully to decide how to sort it best, and we constantly monitor the milling process to make sure the beans aren’t damaged.

She adds: “I don’t like coffee to be spoiled. I try to make sure that the beans stay in the same good condition we received them in, even after processing, so the final customer gets coffee that’s stable, stress-free, and ready to show its full potential when roasted—with a longer shelf life too.”

Challenges

Delays and shortages

What makes each harvest unique is that we always face new challenges and unexpected situations. This year, the biggest issue has been the delay in the ripening and picking of the coffee. Bad weather has affected several regions, causing samples to arrive much more slowly than in previous years.

In the past, we would start receiving coffee as early as January; this time, many only started coming in between late March and early April.

Each year, we aim to increase the number of samples we analyse (last year, we tasted around 2,900), but the current crisis may prevent us from beating that number this season. As of last week, our four-person team had tasted over 800 samples.

Communication

Another major challenge is the variety of languages spoken in the regions where we work. Most of the producers speak Indigenous languages such as Me’phaa, Náhuatl, Mazateco, Mixteco, Tsotsil, and Tseltal. This language barrier can make it hard to give technical feedback.

To overcome it, we rely on local translators and field technicians who have an understanding of these languages.

Insecurity

Traveling to remote and sometimes hard-to-reach areas adds to the challenges we face. On top of that, some communities have high levels of insecurity, which makes us more vulnerable to theft and other incidents.

Fortunately, we’ve always had the support of the producers and local communities. They guide us by recommending the safest routes and advising us on how to avoid risky situations.

Photos: Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos - Osiris Martínez - Pablo Gómez