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Mexican Coffee Origins

Mexican Coffee Origins

Don't forget to get yourself a cup of your favorite coffee before you start reading... and hopefully by the end of the article you get inspired to try some Mexican coffee from its different regions.

The coffee arrives to Mexico in the year of 1740 trough the Caribbean route to the Gulf of Mexico and started expanding rapidly throughout the different Mexican states. From the state of Veracruz to the center and south regions like Puebla, San Luis Potosí and Guerrero.

Another route came from Guatemala to the State of Chiapas, from Italian and German migrants that introduced the growing process and more modern technology.

Mexican coffee origin routes

 

In 1970 the Mexican government launched an agency called INMECAFE, which main goal was to encourage coffee cultivation and provide technical assistance to farmers to increase coffee productivity. Thus, production in the states of Chiapas, Veracruz and Oaxaca increased significantly. With a change in economic policies from the government, the agency was cancelled in 1989, leaving farmers unprotected and not ready to compete in the international market.

The situation lead farmers to create cooperatives to unite forces and opt for organic ways of growing coffee. Nowadays, coffee cultivation continues to be an strategic crop in Mexico's economy. And internationally, is the 11th coffee producer (2,4% of world production).

Mexican states that produce coffee

Mexico's diverse topography, height and climate allows to cultivate coffee of the highest quality. Arabic coffee is the one mainly produced in tropical areas. Also, it is among the top producers in the world of organic coffee, which accounts for 3.24% of the crop land used to grow organic coffee.

Mexican organic coffee famer 

Unfortunately in 2013, a coffee rust disease, called "La Roya" (bleaching the leaves preventing them from breathing) started spreading in Central America infecting a large number of crops. It reached Mexico and affected coffee production especially in the state of Chiapas. The government and coffee organizations introduced help to manage the disease and to introduce more resistant coffee-varieties. Loans and economic helps were also introduced for small farmers to renovate their crops and continue their main source of living. Chiapas having rich natural conditions has helped to fight the disease and is now coming back stronger.

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Sources:

https://www.gob.mx/agricultura/es/articulos/mexico-onceavo-productor-mundial-de-cafe?idiom=es

https://perfectdailygrind.com/2020/03/coffee-origins-a-guide-to-mexico/

http://www.cafedemexico.mx/our-history.html

https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/256426/B_sico-Caf_.pdf

www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=958e917d0d4f4ac4aaf1a55d5a0a72fd

https://www.sustainableharvest.com/blog/chiapas-a-resurgence-in-mexican-coffee

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/26/mexico-coffee-crop-fungus