{"product_id":"zaragoza-beans-from-mexico","title":"Zaragoza Beans from Mexico","description":"\u003ctable width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr style=\"border: 0px;\"\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#d6fbed\" style=\"color: #000000; border: 0px; width: 526px;\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInky, thin‑skinned beans from southern Veracruz, offering smooth depth and a natural affinity for bold, aromatic, chilli‑driven flavours.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe \u003ca title=\"The Heirloom Bean Co\" href=\"\/collections\/the-heirloom-bean-co\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHeirloom Bean Co\u003c\/a\u003e sources these \u003ca title=\"The Heirloom Bean Co - Phaseolus beans from Mexico \u0026amp; North America\" href=\"\/collections\/the-heirloom-bean-co\"\u003ePhaseolus beans\u003c\/a\u003e from Mexican bean and authentic food specialist La Comandanta, working to revitalise traditional Mexican agriculture by preventing the loss of native seeds, as well as ancestral cooking and cultivation processes.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlack Zaragoza beans take their name from Zaragoza in southern Veracruz, a low‑lying, humid region just southwest of Minatitlán. Their thin skins, deep colour and clean, earthy flavour make them remarkably versatile, thriving in chilli‑forward dishes, herb‑layered preparations and recipes that emphasise clarity, depth and smooth texture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWorking with La Comandanta\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Heirloom Bean Co has forged a new partnership with Mexico City’s La Comandanta, a business working to identify, rescue and promote authentic Mexican foods grown and made by rural producers using traditional farming and culinary methods. Through this partnership The Heirloom Bean Company is now fairly trading heirloom beans grown by smallholder farmers and processed and packed in Mexico.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLa Comandanta’s motto \u003cem\u003eCocina una Revolución\u003c\/em\u003e (\"Cook a Revolution\") describes their ethos that eating authentic food is an act of cultural and agricultural resistance to mainstream agrifood corporations. They’re committed to fair and transparent trade, and supporting social and economic development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA key concern is the seed diversity and agricultural heritage of Mexico, with Bolivia one of two centres of genetic diversity of the \u003cem\u003ePhaseolus \u003c\/em\u003ebean species. La Comandanta aims to revive traditional Mexican farming and save heirloom varieties from extinction. Many farmers have stopped growing these varieties for lack of access to fair markets and fear of crop failure. To encourage and support them La Comandanta pays a fair price for crops and offers advance loans at the time of sowing.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe Heirloom Bean Co has visited many of the farmers growing beans to understand the challenges they face and pays an additional 15% premium over the farmgate price into a fund to cover the loans in case of any crop failure. As beans fall outside the usual commodities covered by fair trade labelling schemes the Heirloom Bean Co has introduced its own Fairly Traded emblem to communicate their partnership of trading fairly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- split --\u003e","brand":"The Heirloom Bean Co","offers":[{"title":"500g","offer_id":58006687285622,"sku":"Z-GLCZAR\/500G","price":7.45,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0719\/9925\/files\/Zaragoza-Beans-from-Mexico-3x2.jpg?v=1780680461","url":"https:\/\/hodmedods.co.uk\/products\/zaragoza-beans-from-mexico","provider":"Hodmedod's Wholefoods","version":"1.0","type":"link"}