FINCA LAS NIEVES |🥇1st Place
Finca Las Nieves is nestled in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains of Oaxaca, just two hours from the renowned surf town of Puerto Escondido. Once a key coffee-exporting region, the area saw a decline in production during the 20th century due to falling global prices and its remote location. By the time the cooperative was established in 2006, the farm—originally founded in 1880—had been largely abandoned.
Over the past 18 years, Finca Las Nieves has undergone a remarkable transformation through regenerative organic farming and fair employment practices. The cooperative cultivates a rich diversity of coffee varietals, including Gesha, Typica, Bourbon, Pacamara, Garnica, SL28, Laurina, and Tabi, all grown beneath the canopy of an ancient cloud forest.
As an off-grid farm powered by solar, hydroelectric, and biodiesel energy, Las Nieves is committed to environmental stewardship. Pure mountain spring water flows through the land, shared with neighboring communities. Soil conservation is achieved through successional agroforestry systems, and biodiversity is protected through in-situ composting and biofertilizers.
The farm’s cooperative model ensures fair wages, profit sharing, and respect for all members. Knowledge sharing with neighboring smallholder farmers is central to their mission of raising coffee quality and regional sustainability.
Specialty Coffee Practices
- Selective harvesting and micro-batch processing
- Sun drying on raised beds with gentle fermentation and drying control
- Climate-controlled storage
- Ongoing grain and sensory evaluations
Shade trees such as coralillo, jinicuil, macahuite, macuil, oak, inga, macadamia, and avocado enrich the ecosystem. Harvest season runs from February to March.
At Finca Las Nieves, the philosophy is simple yet powerful: “There’s a saying that humanity runs on coffee—but here, our coffee runs on humanity.”
