The Teresa García Family

The Teresa García family has been farming in Huamuchapa, Guerrero for generations — a small community situated at the edge of a tropical forest ecosystem, in one of the most mountainous states in Mexico, at around 1,440 feet above sea level. Corn and beans have been central crops in Guerrero for as long as anyone can remember, and the García family farms in that same deep tradition.

They use the milpa system — essentially the OG regenerative farming before regenerative farming became a buzzword. This ancient indigenous method of intercropping beans, corn, squash, and chilis together in the same plot is the opposite of monoculture.  This photo may look like a mess of weeds but this is where magic is happening. The beans are climbing up stocks of corn in a living trellis and squash is planted at the base of them. This kind of planting requires hand harvesting, no machinery can come into these fields. This is farming the way it was done 3000 years ago. In 2023, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recognized the milpa as a globally important agricultural heritage system  — which feels like a long-overdue acknowledgment for a practice that has been quietly sustaining soil health, biodiversity, and extraordinary flavor for thousands of years.

Chaparro beans are a staple of the family's kitchen as well as their fields. As the beans move through their different stages of harvest, the family uses them in traditional preparations — most notably tamales, a way of cooking that has always responded directly to the rhythm of the land.

These beans have become one of our most beloved varieties, particularly among customers with family ties in Mexico — people who grew up eating Chaparro beans and never thought they'd find them here in the US. We're so glad to be able to change that.

*photos courtesy of Tamoa and Claudio Castro.

About Tamoa

We're proud to partner with Tamoa to bring you this rare, regional bean.

Tamoa was founded by Francisco Musi and Sofía Casarin out of curiosity and deep love for their Mexican heritage and a desire to champion the country's food culture and traditional farming practices. Francisco, Sofía, and the whole Tamoa team are on a mission to sustain crops native to Mexico — serving as a bridge between small-scale farmers and the growing number of kitchens across North America that care about where their ingredients come from and how they're grown.