Maricela Pérez García
Maricela was born in a small town in one of the poorest states in Mexico. At a very young age, she began getting involved in various activities alongside her parents to support their daily bread, including coffee production. Maricela's experience in the countryside in general, and coffee farming in particular, allowed her to experience firsthand the low pay of the industry. This problem, always present in Maricela's life, motivated her to create a project, her own brand: Ku55end, a stylization of küssend, which means kiss in German.
On her long journey to consolidate her brand, she not only acquired technical knowledge but also met several people who provided support and broadened her vision. Together with her sister, Elia Pérez García, Rosa García Feria, and her husband, she acquired the necessary assets: a roasting machine, a sorting machine, and a coffee grader. Kú55end is located in Guadalupe Miramar, a town in the municipality of Santa María Yucuhiti, in the Mixtec district of Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca. The farm produces natural, honey, washed, and long-fermented coffees. They began in March 2018 and within three months had already advanced to the Cup of Excellence semifinals. By 2019 and 2020, they also reached the Sabor Award semifinals at Expo Café in Mexico City, and in 2021, they obtained fourth place.
Today, their project has diversified: in addition to selling specialty green coffee, they are also a roaster and distributor with a presence in several specialty bars and offer consulting services to producers.