Published March 2008
Mesa de los Santos is an impressive farm replete with environmental certifications. One of our most sustainably produced coffees originates at Mesa, so we asked our Cayuga Street Manager, Mimi Wysong, to visit the operation in person and share her experiences with staff and customers.
Quality-Obsessed
Mimi traveled the farm with owner Osvaldo Acovedo:
"Osvaldo and his farm manager took us on a hike through much of the 'finca' (farm). We wandered around in the nursery and saw the plants — both coffee and three types of shade trees — in every stage of development before they are planted on the hills. We came across many workers weeding and picking on our hike and Osvaldo and his farm manager made sure we understood every detail of how the coffee is grown and the farmland maintained."
Acovedo has carefully designed every one of the farm's 500 acres, from the nursery to the test garden.
Sustainable Mesa
Acovedo is a perfectionist about sustainable agriculture. He has invested in certifications and developed practices that make his farm both sustainable and remarkably efficient. As Mimi says, "The cool thing about Mesa is that nothing is wasted. Everything is reused and recycled, from the water to the cherry pulp."
Some of Acovedo's innovations include:
- Enlisting birds — 119 different species at last count — to control pests
- A four-layer canopy of shade trees protects the soil from erosion and drops its leaves to form a natural mulch on the ground below
- Using natural compost from the chicken farm down the road to replace commercial fertilizers
- Cultivating a wasp colony to keep down insects that threaten the crop
- Intercropping the coffee fields with food plants, like black beans and bananas, that feed the workers and their families
Mesa's comprehensive approach to sustainability also includes fair wages and labor practices. The six families who work on the farm live rent-free, with free access to utilities, private farm plots, and a school for their children.
Coffee Education
The reason we travel to origin is to learn first-hand about coffee. For Mimi, this trip was a profound education.
"I learned more in this past week than I have learned over the course of many years at Gimme! I believe anyone who works in the coffee industry should travel to origin. It is imperative to learn about the daily lives of the workers who pick our coffee, the women who sort out by hand the specialty coffee cherries, and the graveyard shifts most everyone does during the picking season to ensure that we can drink our French press of origin coffee months later. The whole process is very involved — more so than I ever imagined."
A Bright, Clean Cup
Mesa's roster of sustainable practices is remarkable — and so is their coffee. We stop at medium roast to create a bright, clean cup full of citrus and flower fragrance. If you'd like to try Mesa de los Santos for yourself, stop into one of our espresso bars or get a 1-pound bag shipped right to you.
Why Travel?
Each year, we send a few Gimme! staff members to visit farms that produce amazing coffee. By “traveling to origin” we learn about sustainable agriculture, experience farming first-hand, and cultivate relationships with growers. Sometimes we discover a fantastic new coffee along the way. We always return home with a deeper understanding of the people and ecosystems that fill our daily cup.
Learn more about traveling to origin.