Introduction to Mexican Coffee | Organic Coffee | Mexican Coffee Characteristics | Arabica Coffee Beans

Introduction to Mexican Organic Coffee

Mexico is one of the largest producers of certified organic coffee. Owing to geography, most of it is sold to the United States.

The country's coffee industry began in the 19th century, introduced through Jamaica, with Arabica varieties predominant. The producing regions lie near the Pacific coast, adjacent to Guatemala's Soconusco region.

In the early 1990s, the southern state of Chiapas became Mexico's most important coffee-producing region, with an annual production of about 275,000 tons of coffee, accounting for 45% of the country's total.

More than two million Mexicans depend on coffee for their livelihood. 75% of Mexican coffee farmers work land smaller than two hectares. These smallholders produce approximately 30% of the country's coffee each year, while the remainder comes from large or higher-capacity farms.

Since 1988, especially in Chiapas, the government has encouraged poor coffee farmers to raise production and expand planting to increase income, by providing simple loans and encouraging the expansion of forest land.

Chiapas sits on the plateau at Mexico's southern end, bordering Guatemala. In 1991 Mexico's National Institute researched a protection system for indigenous peoples' rights and improved protection through product-trade regulations.

Under these aims and conditions, cooperative organizations sprang up in district after district.

OPCAAC, whose full name is Organización de Productores de Café de Ángel Albino Corzo, is an organic small-farmer production organization in Chiapas. Founded in 1995, OPCAAC built farm-management systems that emphasize open and transparent independent production and sales information for farmers, and set standards to avoid overdevelopment of the land.

The organization provides members with small loans, technical training, social activities, and other assistance, and continuously focuses on organic agriculture and ecological protection.

OPCAAC is committed to sustainable operation, creating value for the local coffee industry and improving farmers' quality of life through fair trade and production methods that comply with ecological conservation. Its members use environmentally friendly farming methods. Through regional organization, they have built economic and social sustainability and improved product quality.

Flavor Profile

Nutty, low acidity, spice, cream, slightly cool herbal, plant-based, smooth and mellow

Coffee Details

• English Name: Mexican Chiapas
• Country: Mexico
• Region: Chiapas
• Grade: SHG
• Producer: OPCAAC
• Processing Method: Washed
• Variety: N/A
• Altitude: N/A
• Certification: Organic

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to explore Arabica's range, FrontStreet's lineup offers several clear reference points. FrontStreet's Huakuei is grown from Ethiopia's most common heirloom varieties, a natural mix of undifferentiated trees, so the beans vary in size and carry a delicate floral note with striking fruit; the classic natural process brings out cream strawberry, mango, jackfruit, citrus, and blueberry, the ripe tropical character that won the lot first place in that year's TOH green-bean competition.

If Huakuei represents Ethiopia's natural side, FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative represents the washed side, at Ethiopia's top G1 grade with an elegant white floral, citrus, orange, and green-tea profile.

For a balanced classic, FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is a Typica, one of Arabica's representative varieties, whose cup balance no single region can quite approach, while FrontStreet's Panama Red Label Geisha, from the famed Boquete area, offers jasmine, citrus, peach, complex fruit, a creamy body, and an oolong-tea finish.