The economic and cultural hub of the Sierra Sur, the Miahuatlán area is a biodiversity hotspot. It boasts an immense variety of mezcal producing agaves endemic to the area, resulting in some of the most complex and rare mezcales in all of Mexico. The region's cuisine creates a perfect complement to its traditional drink resulting in regional specialities like shobatá, chichilo, or barbacoa de chivo, or goat roasted in an earth oven. Barbacoa de chivo might as well be the official party food of December in the southern mountains of Oaxaca. Goat or lamb barbacoa is served to a crowd of anywhere from 15 to 1,000 guests in celebration of an end-of-year baptism, wedding, or quinceañera. During this experience we will immerse ourselves in the culture of mezcal country, preparing a traditional earth oven barbacoa with a maestro mezcalero and his family.
We will leave Oaxaca City and head to Miahuatlán where will learn how to slaughter and butcher the goat from our teachers, local mezcal producers. On Day 1 we begin the preparations for the barbacoa: prepping the oven, chopping vegetables for the consome, and nixtamalizing dried corn for freshly made tortillas. On Day 2 we arise early to heat the oven and make tortillas. Once we put the animal in the oven we will head over to a mezcal producer´s home and sample mezcal made on site. Day 2 ends with a group feast and enjoying the countryside in the heart of mezcal country.
Itinerary: 3 days, 2 nights 2025 dates: Fri-Sun, Jan 17-19
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Fri-Sun, Dec 13-15
Price per person: $800 USD/15,000 MXN
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca city (2 hours each way)
7 meals
Two nights stay: 2 nights accommodations at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Activities planned:
Two days of traditional cooking classes, including learning how to butcher a goat with a maestro mezcalero, how to prepare and cook with a barbacoa oven, the nixtmalization of heirloom corn, and how to make tortillas by hand
Visit to 2 traditional mezcal palenques where will learn about the history in the region and production from a mezcal producing family
Tasting of traditional mezcal at the palenques. A chance to buy mezcal directly from the producer (price not included), our help packing in for travel
Mezcal Camp
Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights 2025 dates: Fri-Mon, April 18-21
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Thurs-Sun, Nov 26-30
Cost per person: $1,500 USD/28,200 MXN
Activities planned:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (2 hours each way)
Visit to two traditional mezcal palenque, learning about the process and history of the mezcal of the region directly from the producing families who have been distilling their mezcal in copper for 4 generations
A chance to purchase mezcal directly from the producers (price not included), our help packing it for travel
Tasting of traditional mezcal made on site
Prepare and light oven for agave roast
Participate in loading an agave oven with a maestro mezcalero and crew, farm breakfast with the team
A chance to participate in various parts of the mezcal production process such as agave harvesting, mashing, distilling,
Option to do a traditional cooking class or visit a 3rd palenque
7 meals
2 nights stay at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Tasting kit of mezcals from producers we visited for you to take home (1 per person)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Copper & Clay
Itinerary: 2 days, 1 nights 2025 dates: Sat-Sun March 1 & 2
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Sat-Sun March 29 & 30
Cost per person: $500 USD/9,400 MXN Sat-Sun April 26 & 27
Sat-Sun Nov 22 & 23
Activities planned:
Personalized guide and translation (Spanish/English)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (2 hours each way)
Visit to a traditional mezcal palenque, learning about the process and history of the mezcal of the region directly from the producing families who have been distilling their mezcal in pots for over 100 years
Tasting of traditional mezcal made on site
A chance to purchase mezcal directly from the producers (price not included), our help packing it for travel
Lunch at the Ocotlán market of regional delicacies
Visit to 2 palenques producing mezcal in a copper still
6 meals
1 night stay at Rancho Los Nahuales (double occupancy)
Tasting kit of mezcals from producers we visited for you to take home (1 per person)
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to future community youth center
Traditional medicine and healing are used throughout rural Oaxacan communities to treat anything from the common cold to more grave conditions like a susto, in which it’s believed that your soul leaves your body due to a frightening experience. As little as 15 years ago western medicine was not accessible in many rural areas of Oaxaca. As our hosts in Teotitlán explain, everyone ́s grandmother became their de facto doctor. When a child had a dry cough or a wet cough your grandmother knew which tea was appropriate to prepare and when a child had a fever they needed to be rubbed in mezcal and wrapped in blankets to sweat it out. Although there is now a health clinic in the community, many families still rely on the traditional methods for curing headaches, stress, and bad dreams. A combination of traditional massage, spiritual cleansing, herbs in teas or applied topically, as well as steam baths (temezcal) are used regularly in the community in combination with western medicine. During this workshop we will learn about the use of traditional medicine in the community with the first women´s cooperative of Teotitlán, as well as experience a limpia, Zapotec massage, and temezcal.
Itinerary: 5 days, 4 nights 2025 dates: Thurs-Mon, Feb 13-17
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Thurs-Mon, Aug 28-Sept 1
Cost per person: $1,500, 28,200 MXN
Activities planned:
Hands-on class with the Vida Nueva women's cooperative learning about the plants of the region used in spiritual healing, traditional medicine, and natural dyes
Learn about and participate in a limpia, Zapotec massage, and temezcal
Hike to a sacred mountain in the community lead by cooperative members
Beeswax candles workshop, learning about the candles made in the community for different spiritual and religious ceremonies
Group meals made using heirloom corn and local herbs from the region prepared by cocineras tradicionales
A traditional mezcal tasting of our family´s small batch local mezcals, learning about mezcal´s role in traditional healing in Oaxaca
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (English/Spanish)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (40 min each way)
Cost of all programmed activities over the course of the trip
9 meals
Tasting of traditional mezcal from local producers
3 night stay at La Cúpula hotel (double occupancy) or accommodations of equivalent quality in Teotitlán
Drinking water and light snacks
Temezcal (traditional steam bath), limpia, and Zapotec massage
Donation to women´s cooperative annual community service project
Wild Mushroom Foraging in the Sierra Sur
We are excited to offer this overnight mushroom foraging and cooking experience in the southern moutains of Oaxaca! We lucky to be working with local mycologists as well as hongeros-community members with a vast knowledge of local mushrooms, and traditional cooks who will learn all about the mushrooms of the region with. Join us for our group trip to the Sierra Sur for a weekend of immersing ourselves in the beautiful landscape of the high pine forests where wild mushrooms flourish during the summer months in Oaxaca. In past years we´ve found over 150 unique varietals of mushrooms and had the pleasure of cooking dishes like yellow mole with mushrooms, mushroom soup with epazote, and locally grown potatoes with mushrroms.
Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights 2025 dates: Thurs-Sun, July 31-Aug 3
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum Thurs-Sun, July 14-17
Cost per person: $1,500 USD/28,200 MXN
Activities planned:
Talks by a local mycologist teaching us about the local mushrooms of the region and Oaxaca and their uses
A guided walk in the high altitude (2440 m/8000 ft above sea level) pine forests of the region where we will collect different kinds of mushrooms with the mycologist and local guide from the community
Create an identification table to learn about the varieties of mushrooms we collect, their scientific classifications, and their uses
A cooking class with a cocinera tradicional learning local dishes like amarillo or hongos a la mexicana that use edible mushrooms
The chance to learn how to make traditional mountain bread in a wood fired oven
Group meals featuring edible mushrooms of the region
Traditional mezcal tasting
Temezcal
Includes:
Personalized guide and translation (English/Spanish)
Comfortable transportation round trip from Oaxaca City (3 hours each way)
Cost of all programmed activities over the course of the trip
10 meals (most featuring edible mushrooms)
3 night stay at Puesta del Sol cabins (double occupancy) or accommodations of equivalent quality
Drinking water and light snacks
Donation to local elementary school for much needed school supplies
*Option to add a stay at Rancho Los Nahuales mezcal farm or take trasportation to the beach after the experience (additional cost).
Wild Mushroom Foraging in the Sierra Norte
Féria de hongos en Cuajui & Cocinando en Ixtapeji
Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights 2025 dates: Thurs-Sun, July 24-27
Groups: 4 minimum, 8 maximum
Cost per person: $1,500 USD/28,200 MXN
Activities planned:
Best of Mitla
This intensive workshop is geared towards chefs and serious cooks who want to learn in depth about heirloom corn and its uses in Oaxacan gastronomy. During our 3 days of classes we focus on nixtamalization and two grinding techniques in two different communities where we will be cooking with regional varieties of heirloom corn.
In Teotitlán del Valle we will learn to do a quicker nixtamalization process to make tostadas de maíz quebrajada, ground by hand on the stone mill (metate) and make three textures of tortillas: blandas, tlayudas, and tostadas. We will also prepare the pre-Hispanic drink tejate, whose main ingredients of corn and cacao are some of the most important in the region. We´ll also learn to make a traditional dish amarillo (often referred to as yellow mole) which is thickened with heirloom corn masa. During this class we will work with four types of heirloom corn grown on site by our teacher, traditional cook, natural dyer, and weaver Aurora.
In Miahuatlán we cook on a traditional mezcal farm with a team of cocineras tradicionales, where heirloom corn, beans and squash are grown alongside agaves for small scale mezcal production. We will cook a dish that features dried corn (segueza, cracked corn mole), nixtamalized corn masa (tamales), and fresh corn (esquites). Here we will learn the long form of nixtamalization (letting our nixtamal soak overnight), perfect our tortilla-making skills, and learn about the five different types of atole in the region and choose which to prepare.
If you schedule your visit over a Sunday or Monday, we will incorporate a trip to the regional weekly market (día de plaza) in either Tlacolula or Miahuatlán. The día de plaza highlights the importance of the region´s food system and helps to understand corn’s important role in each region’s gastronomy.