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Supporters of Slow Food will be well aware of its ‘flagship’ (pun intended) programme ‘The Ark of Taste’. There are 209 UK passengers in that ark – and 182 from Mexico. Among the latter are nine legumes, and at the top of that list is the legendary Ayocote bean (Phaseolus coccineus), which can come in various colours and with or without markings even within a single pod.

The Heirloom Bean Co (HBC) has finally managed to import two Ayocote varieties directly from Mexico, along with other bean beauties with names that range from blood curdling ‘Sangre de Toro’ or ‘Bull’s blood’ to surprising, as in the aptly named ‘Capuccino’. For the distribution of its ‘New World’ range HBC has teamed up with Slow Food partner Hodmedod’s.

But why import beans to The UK, and why from Mexico? Runner, French, or Lima beans all have their centre of genetic diversity in Mexico, with a second centre in Bolivia. In fact, Mexico probably has the largest number of bean varieties in the world. Of course, since Columbus ‘discovered’ the ‘New World’ in 1492, beans (along with potatoes, avocados, maize, chilies, …) have been spread all over the globe. Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library has a good number of such beans in its collection – well adapted over 500 years to grow in sheltered places such as (walled) kitchen gardens and similar locations. But mostly the UK climate has been too wet and too cool for growing Phaseolus beans – consumed as dry seeds rather than fresh – commercially. (Fava beans and chickpeas originate from the Middle East, not Latin America.)

For now, Mexico remains one of two original sources (as identified by Nicolai Vavilov, the pioneer of seed saving). And what makes beans from Central America particularly important is that some farmers still grow then in the traditional way, the so called ‘Milpa system’.

The Milpa system, also known as the ‘three sisters’, describes an ancient method of growing corn, beans and squashes together: the corn supports the bean plants and ‘in turn’ profits from the surplus nitrogen which beans produce in the nodules of their root system; the large leaves of the squashes shade the soil which helps conserve water and suppress weeds.

Edgar Montes Silvestre and his brother Pedro are among the growers of some of HBC’s range of beans, who still use the Milpa system on parts of their 10 hectare farm in the mountains near Atlixco, a beautiful town some 160km southeast of Mexico City.

For Edgar the milpa system holds a lot of possibilities. He would love to grow Rainbow Ayocote, an amazing variety where one can find beans with several colours – yellow, white, brown or speckled in a single pod. But it is a finicky crop: because the pods are so heavy they can strong storms can topple the corn plants, which grow up to 4m high.

Since one of the HBC co-owners is not just a Slow Food member, but a 50-year veteran of Fair Trade, it will not come as a surprise that these beans are probably the first that can claim to be Fairly Traded: HBC shares the risk of the farmers growing heritage beans: their harvests are increasingly threatened by extreme weather events. HBC pays a 15% premium on the farmgate price. HBS’s export partner prefinances seeds and other expenditures of farmers growing these heirloom varieties. If there is a crop failure due to a weather event such as floods, drought or wind damage caused by a hurricane – the farmers do not have to repay the advance, the Fair Trade premium in effect acts as crop insurance.

In other words: Beans are good for the soil because they provide free fertilizer, they are good for the farmers, because they save input costs, and heritage varieties available through HBC provide a little extra financial security, and they are good for you, the consumer/eaters: Beans are amongst the most nutrient dense foods, valuable particularly for those who want to avoid or reduce meat consumption. They have a high fibre content, and even luxury Fairly Traded beans are inexpensive compared to that other important protein source: meat. And they are a joy to cook with, bringing colour, taste and texture to salads and soups, they deliver excellent broth and are endlessly variable – in pasta dishes, with tomatoes, different spices, with cheese, on toast, as a dip … For further  inspiration on how to eat bean, click here

To buy these beans and other products visit Heirloom Bean Company

Text and Images (c) M Kunz

Martin is a co-owner of HBC, and a Slow Food Member

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