Pluma Hidalgo is a “Typica” progeny first cultivated in Mexico and introduced to the area known as “Pluma” (within the Loxicha region of Southern Oaxaca) in the year 1854 by cochinilla farmers who were being displaced from Oaxaca’s central valleys due to the increasing use of synthetic dyes instead of natural ones (cochillia was used for dying textiles scarlet). Throughout the late 1800s and early 20th century it began to be widely disseminated throughout the regions of La Costa and Sierra Sur, where it has adapted itself to the local conditions.
Pluma Hidalgo is a small village set in Oaxaca’s Sierra Madre del Sur, approximately an hour from the resort town of Huatulco.
Legend has it that Pluma Hidalgo received its name due to the clouds that gather at the mountain peaks – particularly in the afternoon as warm coastal air hits the cooler mountain climes. These clouds take the form of a feather. Hidalgo comes from one of the fathers of Mexican Independence, the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
For many years, producers within the area have been seeking Denomination of Origin status for Cafe Pluma Hidalgo; however, difficulties are posed by the wide dispersal of the variety across many zones across Oaxaca.
