Coffee plantation in the State of Veracruz. Source: Wikipedia

Mexican employees in the classification of coffee. Source: Wikipedia

Boarding of coffee from the port of Veracruz ca 1959. Source APAMM

Coffee tree and berries. Source: Wikipedia

Gold coffee export in Zimpizahua, Coatepec, Veracruz, ca.1900. Source: APJAH.

There are records dating the arrival of coffee in Mexico to 1740. During the 18th century, coffee production spread from the Antilles to Central and South America. The route to Mexico began in Jamaica, Haiti, and Santo Domingo and reached Cuba—the plants were all Arabian in origin and came via Martinique—before crossing the Caribbean Sea and landing on the Gulf of Mexico coast.


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The unexpected appreciation for this aro-matic beverage in Mexico allowed coffee to reach the mountains and forests of the Mexican Intertropical Convergence Zone, leading to environmental transformations as well as cultural and social changes in the communities dedicated to growing it.


The aromatic bean reached Mexico by several routes. One was the port of Veracruz, from which it spread through-out the state and reached the central and southern regions of the country, making states such as Puebla, the state of Mexico (just north of Mexico City), San Luis Potosí, and Guerrero proper coffee-growing regions.

Plantations were even set up in Tabasco and Yucatán where the climate and altitude are not ideal for large-scale coffee production, the various routes that the crop took to once in Mexico have been documented for each region. In 1935 William Ukers reported in All About Coffee that in the district of Coatepec, Veracruz, coffee was planted in 1808 and soon spread to the rest of the region.


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It was General Mariano Michelena who, taking advantage of one of his trips to the sacred sites of Italy, Palestine and Arabia, took coffee from Mocha to Michoacán around 1831. From there, it was transported to the states of Jalisco and Colima and where the soil was more suitable for its growth.


The third route went from Guatemala through Chiapas where Manchinelli, an Italian, began to grow it at the Chácara Hacienda sometime around 1846. A few years later, Germans who had migrated from Guatemala toward El Soconusco, Chiapas in search of fertile land to grow coffee introduced modern technology.

Coffee reached Oaxaca years later, in 1874. The low market price of the cochineal bug (Dactylopius spp.), used to dye cloth, forced growers to abandon it as a crop and turn their efforts to finding land appropriate for growing coffee. A decade later, early migrants founded Pluma Hidalgo in Oaxaca, a town that would soon gain recognition—which it retains to this day—for its excellent coffee.


Today, almost 278 years since the arrival of coffee to Mexico, after its cultivation has been one of the main drivers of the economy and after its recognition as one of the best coffees of the world, providing a source of wealth and prosperity even in the most remote mountain ranges of the country, Mexican caficulture faces considerable challenges.


We remain one of the main producers of America, with around 600,000 cultivated hectares distributed across 15 of the 32 states of the country. Chiapas, Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca and Guerrero top the list with 94% of the national production. However, remaining to be explored is a wide diversity of climates, soils, landscapes and culture that provide an incredible wealth of aromas and flavors to our daily consumption of coffee.

Photography: Enrique Medina




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