Beanology

Just as many exotic locations with none of the jet lag, Mexico is the closest coffee producing country to the United States. A burgeoning tourism destination, Mexico is a diverse country with deserts, blue waters, mountains, huge cities, and small hamlets. Taking a step away from the new resorts and seaside resort complexes will land you right in the middle of prime coffee country.



Ease of access and abundant quality coffee has turned greater buyer interest towards Mexico in the recent years. This has helped elevate Mexico’s status from blend coffee to single-source and organic specialty offerings

The following is an excerpt from Roast Magazine:

Mexican coffees are known for being light to medium in body with mild acidity and good balance. But because the often lack the richness and body many buyers look for, Mexican coffees were traditionally used in blends and as a flavoring base.



Today Mexico, like many other Central and South American countries is gaining new attention for its single origin, fair-trade and organic coffees. Some of this is due in part to the Mexican Coffee Council which has been working to increase Mexican coffee’s reputation by implementing an official quality certification program.



This is also partly due to consumers increased interest in high-quality single-origin coffees. “We’ve seen the same things happening in Mexico that we’ve seen in other regions,” says Andrew Miller, president of Café Imports. “People have started understanding the uniqueness of different regions. Mexico has recognized that it has different regions and each region has its own flavor.”



Mexico also has a long history of offering organic and fair-trade coffees, something that helps set it apart from other newer-to-the-fold countries. Currently Mexico is the main producer of organic coffee in the world according to the Mexican Coffee Council



“I think (Mexico) was one of the first countries doing organic and fair trade,” Miller says, “They were early on the roster of fair trade producers. Part of what happened had to do with the coffee crisis—people who wanted to stay in the game had to differentiate.

Mexican coffee is also popular in the United States for one of the same reasons that coffee from Hawaii is popular. “Mexico is accessible,” says Miller, “It’s easy to get there and safe to go there.” And once people visit a place, they often purchase coffee from that place, regardless of taste or quality.

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