In the southern highlands, on small, steep, mountainous farms, a resilient and often underestimated coffee origin thrives: Mexico. 

How it started, how it's going.
Coffee arrived in Mexico in the late 1700s, initially cultivated on European-owned estates using indigenous labour. Land reforms in the early 20th century began to dismantle this structure. By the 1970s, the Mexican government recognised coffee’s potential to drive rural development and played an active role in promoting production and exports. Coffee became the country’s top agricultural export by the 1980s, peaking at over 400,000 tonnes in the early 1990’s.

Since then many producer cooperatives have emerged, often working in collaboration with international stakeholders. These groups support marginalised growers, invest in local infrastructure, provide training in best practice and often promote organic production, which now accounts for 8% of Mexico’s output, making it one of the world’s largest exporters of certified organic coffee.
Today, coffee is grown in 16 Mexican states, by over half a million producers, 95% cultivating less than three hectares.

Mexican coffee is almost entirely Arabica, with Robusta accounting for only 3–4%. Processing is dominated by washed methods (90%), with some honey and natural processing.

Common Varietals: Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Mundo Novo, Maragogype, Catimor, Catuai, Garnica, and Marsellesa.

Coffee Growing Regions

Veracruz
Historically the first region to cultivate coffee in Mexico. Grown at 1,100–1,600 masl, it is the most technologically advanced region, with improved spacing, disease resistance, and controlled sowing.

Chiapas
Mexico’s largest coffee-producing state, contributing 40% of national output. Farms sit at 1,300–1,700 masl. 

Oaxaca
Positioned between Veracruz and Chiapas, with farms ranging from 900 to 1,650 masl. Here, traditional methods dominate, and many farms remain unchanged since the 1940s. 

Mexico presents a complex and varied coffee landscape. From high-tech farms in Veracruz to heritage cultivation in Oaxaca, and the high-output heartland of Chiapas, the country blends modernity and tradition. Its coffees range from delicate floral Geshas to rich, chocolatey Typica, all shaped by the land and its people. It remains one of the most under-recognised origins on the global coffee map.