On the Pacheco family’s seven-hectare estate in Patuán, Michoacan (30 minutes from Uruapan) they currently cultivate 5 different subvarieties of sugarcane which thrive in the high altitude red volcanic soil known in Purépecha as “charanda”.  While their estate is not certified as organic, due to the high cost involved with said certification, it is important to note that they use no pesticides and only use house made fertilizer from the neutralized “vinaza” from the byproduct of distillation.

The two most prominent cane varieties on the property are “Criollo” and “Cristalina”.  In 2018, Miriam, while speaking with her late father Don Fernando, was told they had very little of caña Morada (or purple cane) interspersed in their fields. Don Fernando was particularly fond of the Morada because it had robust and unique flavors and it is naturally resistant to insects and disease.  However, this cane was in great decline because it is very dense which makes it difficult to press.  Miriam therefore took it upon herself to actively try to rescue the caña Morada and reached out to neighbors to see if they had any. They did not, which is when Miriam began cultivating it from seed on their property.

At one point Don Fernando had mentioned to Miriam about other cane varieties that they had cultivated in the past, namely “Mayari” and “Mexicana”.  Sadly, they had none remaining on their land, but Miriam once again set out to look for it amongst the neighboring cane farmers and this time able to find them and introduce them in their field with the intent of having all the different cane varieties that the family historically worked with back on their land once again.

The current break down of cane varieties that the Pacheco’s have are:

35% Cristalina
35% Criolla or Carricilla
15% Mexicana
10% Mayari
5% Morada

The harvesting of the cane for the Pacheco’s is different than many other sugarcane producers in that they do not burn the fields to clear out the underbrush and leaves before harvest, this is largely due in part because they only harvest about 24 cane stalks a day and also because they do not want to damage the base of the cane that will regrow their stalks year after year.  All the leaves from harvest are set aside for their neighbors to be able to take to feed their livestock.