Mexico – Coffee from the Mountain Slopes of Chiapas
Mexican coffee is a quiet favorite among connoisseurs: smooth, sweet, and honest. Our Mexico Chiapas Adelita comes from the mountain slopes of Chiapas, the country's southernmost state, and carries the Altura Superior quality grade. We roast it fresh in Banská Bystrica.
The coffee belt · Mexico
Expect milk chocolate, almonds, and caramel in the cup – a smooth, sweet coffee with gentle acidity that offends no one and wins over many.
Mexico Chiapas Adelita is one of those coffees that handle both espresso and filter. In espresso, chocolate and caramel step forward and the coffee works beautifully with milk; in filter, the almond notes and gentle sweetness open up. If you're unsure, start with filter – it shows just how clean this coffee is.
The coffees we roast from here
What Mexico tastes like
The coffee tree reached Mexico at the end of the eighteenth century via the Caribbean, and cultivation gradually settled in the south of the country, where it found ideal conditions. To this day, coffee from Mexico is above all the work of smallholders – family plots and cooperatives play a bigger role here than large plantations. This very structure made the country one of the pioneers of certified organic coffee: small farmers often grow the traditional way, in the shade of trees and without industrial chemicals. Mexican coffee thus bears the signature of people, not machines.
The best Mexican coffee beans grow in the south of the country, where mountain ridges rise high above the tropical lowlands. Volcanic soils, humid ocean air, and cooler nights at higher elevations slow the ripening of the cherries – the bean gains a denser structure and fuller sweetness. Mexicans have their own term for high-grown coffee: Altura, meaning altitude. Our Mexico Chiapas Adelita ripens on slopes at around 1,200 to 1,700 meters above sea level and carries the Mexican quality grade Altura Superior.
In flavor, coffee from Mexico is balance embodied. Don't expect wild fruity acidity like in African coffees – the typical profile is smooth and sweet, with notes of milk chocolate, nuts, and caramel and a gentle, pleasant acidity. That makes Mexican coffee one of the most approachable there is: it pleases people who drink coffee with milk as well as those who savor it black. Our Chiapas Adelita adds an almond undertone that carries through the whole cup into a long, clean finish.
The harvest in Chiapas runs from October to March, as the cherries on the mountain slopes ripen gradually and are picked by hand in several passes. Most Mexican coffee is processed by the washed method: the cherries are pulped, fermented briefly in water, and then dried in the sun. It is washed processing that gives Mexican coffee its clean, transparent character – in the cup you taste the bean itself, not the processing. Our Mexico Chiapas Adelita took this path too, which is why it feels so composed and balanced.
Mexico is home to café de olla – coffee brewed in a clay pot with cinnamon and cane sugar. Legend has it that it was born during the Mexican Revolution, prepared for the soldiers by the brave women known as adelitas.
Regions and farms
In our atlas, Mexico is represented by the Chiapas region – the country's southernmost state, bordering Guatemala, and the center of Mexican organic and fair-trade coffee production. That is where our Mexico Chiapas Adelita comes from: a washed Arabica from the mountain slopes bearing the Altura Superior quality grade.
Mexico Chiapas Adelita
- Altitude
- 1,200–1,700 m a.s.l.
- Processing
- Washed
This coffee comes from Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state on the border with Guatemala, and carries the Mexican quality designation Altura Superior. Chiapas is the heart of Mexico's organic and fair trade coffee production; the harvest runs from October to March.
From green bean to your cup
We roast coffees from across the coffee belt in our own roastery in Banská Bystrica and ship them all over Slovakia. And if you want to get more out of every cup, come try your hand at brewing in our Barista Academy.
Where to go next on the map
Click any dot to open the story of another origin country — the number in the dot tells you how many of its coffees we’re roasting right now.
What you ask us
What does coffee from Mexico taste like?+
Balanced, smooth, and sweet. The typical Mexican profile is built on notes of milk chocolate, nuts, and caramel with gentle acidity. It is one of the most approachable coffees – delicious black or with milk.
What is the Chiapas region known for?+
Chiapas is Mexico's southernmost state, bordering Guatemala, and the center of the country's organic and fair-trade coffee production. Coffee grows here on mountain slopes and is harvested from October to March. Our Chiapas Adelita from this region carries the Altura Superior quality grade.
What does the Altura grade mean?+
Altura is Spanish for altitude. Mexicans use it for coffee from high mountain elevations, where a cooler climate slows the ripening of the cherries and the bean develops a fuller flavor. Our coffee from Chiapas carries the Altura Superior grade.
Is Mexican coffee better for espresso or filter?+
Both. Espresso draws out its chocolate-caramel sweetness and takes milk well; filter highlights the almonds and the cleanness of the cup. It is a versatile coffee for everyday drinking.