México Oralia Castañón Morales

Once the cherries are harvested at their optimal ripeness, they are transported to a wet processing facility. The cherries are taken to the pulper, where the skin and pulp are removed. They are then transferred to fermentation tanks (in this case, without water) for 24 hours to remove the mucilage.

Afterward, they are taken to the drying yards for 7 days. Once the cherries have reached an 11% moisture content, they are removed from the drying yards to rest before being sent to the thresher.

As in most of Mesoamerica, coffee was first planted in Mexico during the early colonial period, most likely in the late 18th century. However, due to the greater attention given to the region’s rich mineral deposits and mining opportunities, coffee did not develop as an industry until later, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the redistribution of farms, independence, and the emergence of small farmers, particularly those of indigenous origin. In the late 20th century, the Mexican government established a national coffee institution called INMECAFE, which, like the FNC in Colombia and ICAFE in Costa Rica, was designed to offer technical assistance, information, botanical material, and financial credit to producers.

Unfortunately, INMECAFE was something of a short-lived experiment and was dissolved in 1989, leaving producers with a gap in their access to support and resources, especially those in very remote rural areas. This infrastructure disruption and the coffee crisis that followed the end of the International Coffee Agreement plunged Mexican coffee farmers into desperate financial times, which in turn dramatically affected quality. Throughout the 1990s and since the beginning of the 21st century, the increased presence, influence, and focus of Fairtrade and Fairtrade certifications, along with the emphasis on democratically run cooperative farming of small farmers, have worked to transform the image of Mexican coffee into one that reflects sustainability, affordability, and relatively easy logistics, given its proximity to the United States.

In recent years, Mexico has struggled mightily with coffee leaf rust and other pathogens that have reduced both yield and cup quality. This, combined with the high turnover of land ownership and the loss of labor to emigration and relocation, has created a tentative future for the producing country, although we have seen great achievements and great promise from producers and quality associations. The best coffee plants are fantastic, and the long-term work and investment are well worth it to overcome the obstacles faced by the average farmer, who owns between 1 and 5 hectares (although some medium-sized farms run closer to 25 hectares), which helps compensate for the area’s low rainfall. The shade is especially dense to protect the coffee plants from the region’s occasional frosts.