February 7, 2023

Pluma Hidalgo, Oaxaca

About 209 KM/130 miles from Oaxaca’s Capital, high in the mountains (about 3000ft-4000+ ft above sea level), there’s the beautiful and hidden town of “Pluma Hidalgo”. Known for its delicious and artisan coffee, Pluma Hidalgo is becoming one of the best destinations for coffee lovers in the world. Most people that come here are typically brought by tours coming from Huatulco, and many are typically foreigners who have heard about the delicious coffee and want to take some home.

The town is called “Pluma Hidalgo” because there’s a hill/mountain that bares that name in which at the tip of the hill there was a cloud that resembled a feather or “Pluma” in spanish. The latter “Hidalgo” comes from Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest and a leader of the Mexican war of Independence.

Things to do at Pluma

Visit & talk to the coffee producers:

Walk around the town plaza and you will spot a few coffee shops, restaurants, along with other places with Wi-fi access, and take some time to stop by a coffee shop where you will find some interesting and knowledgeable coffee producers. Ask them about their process of harvesting and roasting the coffees, they’re more than willing to tell you all about it. Be educated and I can assure that you’ll will appreciate it even more, and if you like their product, buy it and tell all your friends about it!

Flor del cafe

Owner: Filadelfo Ramírez P: +52 958-525-8110 | Facebook

Look for Filadelfo, the owner of this shop. He knows so much about the region and knows everyone there who is a coffee producer. It was a very humbling experience talking to him and learning about the process of producing the coffee (harvesting, roasting, grinding), as well as the challenges that these producers face compared to bigger established coffee markets around the world. He made me a cup and explained that a “good coffee should not be bitter, nor give you a heartburn, and should be enjoyable without any sugar/milk“. Honestly tasting the pluma coffee was eye opening for me as I thought I had good coffee in the past; however, they didn’t compare to the flavor & aroma of Pluma Hidalgo Coffee.

Café cerró de la pluma 
P: +52 951-115-1573 |  Facebook
Owner: Damian Ramirez

This is another great coffee producer. Damian works with his dad who still believes in hard work. They grow their coffee at 1500+ meters above sea level and only produce a limited amount of coffee per season.

He was very eager to share his knowledge and believes in educating everyone that walks in his establishment. We talked about storing coffee, how difficult is to get their product known to other nationals as there is more interest in coffee from foreigners that than Mexican nationals who might not travel here. Their coffee is artisan and their medium roast is amazing!

Image: This is Damian’s dad who still does things the old fashion way and believes in working with his hands to produce the best coffee at 1500 meters above sea level.

La Bóveda Café

P: +52 958 585 3546   | Facebook

I didn’t get a chance to get the name of the owner; however, she was amazing and made me a cup of coffee while I was trying to find a place with Wi-fi which is next door. This is one of the few places that you can order an espresso, lattes, etc.

Cafe Plurmet P: +52 958 525 8108 | Facebook

Get an up and close with coffee beans and see the process of removing the coffee dry shell, and roasting it in an artisan way.

Go on a Coffee Tour

I stayed at Finca Don Gabriel as they are one of the few places that offers lodging. They also offer a coffee tour around their plantation. The tour starts with a visit to their small “coffee museum” which is essentially a collection of various coffee tools used throughout the century, some dating back to the 1800s. This is a personal collection of the owner who clearly loves coffee. The museum is small and takes no more than 10 minutes to view.One of the female employees working there gave me a tour and explained the basics of coffee, how it was processed and the machines that were used throughout the process. (Opinion: I must add that I preferred the explanations done by the coffee producers at the main square as they seem to be much more knowledgeable and passionate about their trade, versus the employees at the finca).  

Continuing the finca tour, we descend about 20 meters down the hill where workers were clearing out the paths with machete to keep the finca clean, and it allowed us to walk around and take a look at the coffee plants. Coffee plants produce berries which turn red when they’re ready to be harvested, harvesting season typically occurs in December, in case you want to experience it. It was eye opening as I grabbed one and tasted it, it’s just like eating a berry which is sweet. Once the berries are collected, they are placed on water containers which removes the pulp (sweetness) from the coffee   Next, the beans are placed in an open field so that the bean dries with only the parchment skin left on. After this, they are processed through a machinery that removes the parchment layer, and you’re left with the coffee bean. There are two types of coffee beans (a male & female). The Female coffee beans may be planted to produce more, while the male beans cannot. From a tasting standpoint they both taste the same, although they physically look different (although its hard to tell).   Continuing with the tour, I was able to see some of the challenges faced by “artisan” coffee producers which include invasive plant species, other coffee plants, and specially “plagues”. These coffee producers only produce so much every year and a large number of their production is impacted by plagues.   One of the worst plagues that impact their production are Coffee borer beetle or “Brocas” in Spanish; these tiny black bugs suck the nectar out of the coffee bean, and then dry out the coffee plant until the point where the plant itself dies and is no longer useful. I was able to closely inspect one of the coffee beans, and to my surprise there were about 4 of them inside. It’s a sad and helpless situation as they don’t use pesticides in this finca to control these pests; however, they don’t want to sacrifice the integrity of their coffee bean and want to ensure it remains the way it’s been, even if these plagues exists. I want to clarify that majority of the coffee plants were healthy and lively, so don’t feel discouraged!   Besides the coffee itself there’s other interesting vegetation such as other species of coffee plants, plantain trees, Nanches (yellow berries), Maracuya (Passion Fruit). Here’s an example of two variations of Arabica coffee, the smaller one is the “Pluma coffee” as you can see it on the feather-shaped leaf.  

Two variations of Arabica coffee  

Other notable Finca & Coffee tours:

Wonder around

Walk around the plaza and you will find small restaurants, cyber cafes, or wi-fi accessible coffee shops. You will identify the plaza when you see the Church of Ave Maria, a small and colorful church which faces the middle of the square. Walk into any restaurant such as Comedor Raquel and ask about a Moto Taxi, the motorized bikes that will take you around town; Otherwise, just spot one in the plaza and ask them to take you down to Cascada de la Providencia. This is a 70-meter waterfall located at the Finca Providencia (Thus the name of the waterfall). It should take about 20 minutes to go down there, and they charged me about  $150 pesos to stay there up to 25 minutes. (Note: it’ll take you about an hour if you want to hike down there, and you cannot drive there, unless you have an ATV because the terrain isn’t friendly). Watch for Motion sickness when riding on the motorized taxi:

Cascada de la providencia.

Other sites

As mentioned earlier, take some time to walk around the plaza square, walk to any of the trails nearby. You might bump into a small cemetery, spot beautiful flowers and plantains hanging down the road. Explore the “Miradores” or hills which will give you a view of the small town, others will allow you to spot the pacific towards Huatulco. These include:

  • El Cerro de la Pluma
  • El Cero Espino
  • El Cerro de la Bandera

Where to eat:

I had a chance to eat at Comedor Raquel for breakfast and evening meals and I was very pleased. They offer delicious chocolate with pan dulce in the mornings, along with great dishes such as Enfrijoladas/Entomatadas (shown in the image to the left). As mentioned earlier La Bóveda Café offers great lattes/espressos, and surpisingly delicious Nanche ice cream in a bag which is very refreshing. It’s next to a Cyber Cafe so you can enjoy a great snack while you connect to the Wi-fi ($10 pesos).

  It’s fairly easy to find these restaurants as they’re all within walking distance from the plaza square. If you’re having difficulty finding them, just ask around. Alternatively if you are staying at Finca Don Gabriel, they also have a restaurant; however, I’d rather eat outside of the finca as the restaurants at the plaza square are more economical.

Where to stay:

I stayed at the Finca don Gabriel. Got a single room with a queen size bed for about ($450) pesos a night. It had some incredible views of the cerros (hills) along with all the vegetation and sounds from the Forrest. They also offer ecological rooms, coffee tours, and there’s a nice hangout area with a swimming pool and hammocks. Views from outside my room

Finca don Gabriel is about 15-20 min walk toward the plaza square where you may find some restaurants and coffee shops, along with the coffee producers from that region. (Note: Although I really enjoyed walking back and forward, if you are not in the best physical shape you might find it difficult hiking up so plan your stay accordingly). Other Accommodations:

Alternatively you can check Airbnb and check any listings in Pluma Hidalgo.  

Getting to Pluma Hidalgo

If you decide to take a colectivo ( Van-like vehicle shared among several passengers) from Oaxaca, ensure that you don’t get motion sickness, it’ll be a 6 hr ride from Oaxaca to Huatulco, and there will be hundreds of curves (I’m not exaggerating). The Colectivo will drop you off at the entrance road to  Pluma Hidalgo (about a 15 min drive to Pluma Hildago, and perhaps an hour walk to Pluma Hidalgo). If the weather is not favorable, this might not be the best experience. Just hope there is a motor-taxi driving by. I opted to rent a car (from Alamo centro, for 4 days, ran about 2900 pesos. I chose this route because I get motion sickness easily, and I’m glad I did. The scenery is amazing and I was able to stop by and take pictures, and stopped at small towns like San Jose del Pacifico to buy food. Most of the road from Oaxaca to Huatulco is very good; however the road conditions are not so great from Pluma to Huatulco (about a 30 min stretch), pot holes so be careful when driving. An alternative to traveling to Huatulco via road is to fly there, there’s private companies that will fly you there. I got a quote for about (1,500 pesos one way) (about $90+ dollars). Once you are in Huatulco, it’s very easy to find transportation to Pluma Hidalgo.  I think next time I visit I will do that.

Quick Q&A

  • Q: Is there Cellular data signal up there?  A: It’s very spotty around that region, some places will not have data signal so ensure that you download offline maps (if using google maps)
  • Q: Is there internet access?  A: Some Fincas/Hotels might offer limited wi-fi; however, I found it best to go to the Plaza square and pay $10-20 pesos for internet access at decent speeds.
  • Q: How long would you recommend staying there?  A: This depends on you, if you are truly curious about visiting the coffee plantations and the process to harvest coffee and roast it, I would at least spend 2-3 days.
  • Q: Is it safe? A: Very! I walked around alone and chit-chat with people there; however, do be respectful of them as many might be preferred to be left alone.

Road Conditions post earthquake (October 2018).

I drove from Oaxaca to Huatulco, and obviously stopping by Pluma Hidalgo. Although some of the stretch has alot of potholes, there were only 2 instances where I could see the road had collapsed on the right side of the road (Not sure if this was due to rain or because of the earthquake; however, the roads were in good shape and I never felt in danger. There were some construction going on before getting to Pluma Hildago, but there were road workers directing traffic which was fine.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a coffee enthusiast searching for the best coffee in the planet or you’re just a curious tourist coming from Huatulco; Pluma Hidalgo is a great get-away from the busy activities, or life in general. Take some time to enjoy a cup of coffee, visit the coffee plantations, and educate yourself and I can assure you that you’ll love it even more. Look at the majestic scenery and the misty mornings which can be surreal at times and take some time to appreciate the nature surrounding you. Lastly, remember that coffee contributes to a large portion of their economy, so the best thing you can do is buy some coffee from them and spread the message to all of your friends and loved ones so that they may come back and enjoy Pluma Hidalgo themselves!

Here’s some more pictures from Pluma Hidalgo as if you didn’t need more reasons to visit.

View post on imgur.com

Thanks for reading ya’ll!

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