Mexican coffee producer Enrique López of Finca Chelín will tour Australia for Toby’s Estate Knowledge Talks series from 4 to 7 June.
Enrique will tour Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, presenting on the new frontier of processing in Mexico.
Enrique says his most innovative experiment involved gathering the genetic material of 24 different coffee plants to develop an uncommon varietal. He is also excited to see what evolves from a dwarf Colombian Gesha he planted a few years ago, which turned into a natural local mutation he named Gesha Chelín. This next harvest, Enrique will have the first bean samples to try.
To share his passion for quality and farming innovation, two years ago Enrique created Inovacafé, an institute of coffee courses and seminars. The institute aims to empower other Mexican farmers to share their knowledge with other small coffee producers, not only in Oaxaca but throughout Mexico.
“It’s my hope that all Mexican farmers can improve their productivity, coffee quality, and understanding of specialty coffee,” Enrique says.
To help rescue the coffee growing profession in Oaxaca, increase production per hectare, and position its coffee as some of the best in the world, Enrique was recently named President of the Coffee Cluster of Oaxaca, an initiative project promoted by the Governor of Oaxaca, Alejandro Murat.
Enrique’s Knowledge Talk tour dates include:
Sydney: Monday 4 June at Toby’s Estate, 4/29-33 Bourke Road, Alexandria
Brisbane: Tuesday 5 June at Newstead Brewing, 67 Castlemaine Street, Milton
Melbourne: Wednesday 6 June, 6.00pm to 8.00pm at Brunswick Foodstore, 29 Weston Street, Brunswick
Perth: Thursday 7 June, 6.00pm to 8.00pm at Toby’s Estate, 1/7 Douglas Street, West Perth
Each talk will take place from 6.00pm to 8.00pm
*Enrique’s presentation will be in Spanish and will be interpreted to English.
All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to the Las Nubes Daycare and Afterschool-Learning Centre. The centre supports the education of over 40 children aged between three and 12 in the coffee community of Acatenango.
On a daily basis the centre provides much needed education, nutritional meals and a safe and nurturing environment while allowing the parents to continue working or to complete their education.
To purchase tickets to Knowledge Talks, click here.