While the paperwork has lapsed, the group’s genuine concern for the environment has not. I was impressed by the initiatives of different members, which ranged from locating the proper organic inputs for their coffee, to cataloging local flora, attending regional seminars on environmental management, and to preparing for a business which will bring eco-toursim to the area.
And that, I think, is a wonderful idea because there really is so much to see in Zihuatanejo.
Thank you for reading my account. Please contact us to learn more about our upcoming origin trip to Zihuatanejo (you’re invited!) and read on for a few tips on travelling.
Before signing off I’d like to offer thanks to the team at La Colombe Torrefaction. They get hands-on with their sourcing, and last year engaged us to help them find some interesting coffees. Together we partnered on the farmer engagement, lot selection and import process for this coffee origin which is now for the first time available to the US specialty coffee community. Without their support a small importer like us would not have been able to do all that’s been done in Mexico and many of our other origins in the past year.
– Jake Elster
Traveling to Zihuatanejo
You can drink the coffee, but to get the full Zihuatanejo experience you really should try to go there yourself.
Zihuatanejo is a classy town with old-school brick streets and uniform red clay shingles overhanging all the sidewalks. Upon seeing the picture I took from my breakfast table one morning (below), my wife said it looks like Disney World’s version of Mexico.
The big difference, is that while Zihuatanejo knows how to be a good host to tourists (most of whom come over from the nearby resort town of Ixtapa), it is not a tourist town. Rather I found Zihua to have an authentic, easy sense of self. Mostly, this town is a port town. Ports and beaches.
Now I’m not sure how this place still feels like a secret; if you count the population of Zihua and Ixtapa, I am told that there are around .5 million locals – double what it was at the turn of the century.
But it doesn’t feel too big. When you go there, go to the municipal market in the center of town and get fresh squeezed juices. Go to the port to get seafood fresh from the boat before 9am, or get to a restaurant before 4pm to get the fresh catch. My favorite was the needle-fish, the red snapper and the ceviche. Yes, the ceviche. And my favorite place was locally famous, called Gabo’s. Hungry for a snack, that’s what tacos are for. My favorite is al Pastor from La Flichetta Rojo (the red light). Oh, Pozole from one of the pozolerias around makes a great snack too, and everything tastes better with a nice cold Victoria!But it doesn’t feel too big. When you go there, go to the municipal market in the center of town and get fresh squeezed juices. Go to the port to get seafood fresh from the boat before 9am, or get to a restaurant before 4pm to get the fresh catch. My favorite was the needle-fish, the red snapper and the ceviche. Yes, the ceviche. And my favorite place was locally famous, called Gabo’s. Hungry for a snack, that’s what tacos are for. My favorite is al Pastor from La Flichetta Rojo (the red light). Oh, Pozole from one of the pozolerias around makes a great snack too, and everything tastes better with a nice cold Victoria!