4 Best Mexican Coffee Beans (Top Brands and Buying Guide)

Think specialty coffee, and your immediate thought probably isn’t Mexico. But you’d be surprised to know that the country produces some high-altitude coffees that can stand proud among the best beans in the world.

As always, the trick is knowing which beans to buy. Read on for some of the best Mexican coffee beans. You might just discover your new favorite coffee.

The best Mexican coffee brands in 2023

The rise in popularity of specialty coffees from Mexico has seen the emergence of some genuinely excellent beans come on to the market.

image	product	details
Best Overall Best Overall	Volcanica Mexican Organic Coffee	Medium roast Chiapas region 100% Arabica	GET 15%OFF (CODE: HG15)
Best Altura Best Altura	Out of the Grey Mexican Custepec SHG	Medium-Dark roast Chiapas region Caturra	CLICK TO CHECK PRICE
Budget Pick Budget Pick	Fresh Roasted Organic Dark Mexican	Dark roast Chiapas region Catimor, Bourbon	SEE ON AMAZON
Best Value For Money Best Value For Money	Mother Tongue Coffee Bella Vista Women’s Project	Medium roast Chiapas region Bourbon, Catimor, Caturra	CLICK TO CHECK PRICE

Here are some of the brands we think are doing justice to Mexico’s unique and exciting harvest.

1. Volcanica Mexican Organic Coffee – Best Coffee from Mexico

• Roast level: Medium

• Region: Chiapas
• Varietal(s): 100% Arabica
• Processing: Washed
• Tasting notes: Hazelnut, earthy, cocoa
• Available as: Whole bean, ground coffee

GET 15%OFF (CODE: HG15)

If you’re a fan of premium beans from some of the world’s best coffee-growing regions, then the Volcanica Coffee brand will probably be familiar to you. As the name suggests, it focuses on volcanic areas, where the mineral-rich soil is perfect for growing top-quality beans. You’ll find more than 100 different single origins, peaberry, flavored coffee, and estate coffee, including Honduran beans and the highly prized Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. 

All beans are sustainably sourced, with Volcanica working directly with farms or collectives – in this case, from several smallholder farms in the Chiapas region. These certified organic and fair trade beans highlight the nutty, chocolatey flavor notes typical of the area. The sweetness of hazelnut and the earthiness of the cocoa creates a smooth and balanced cup of coffee with medium acidity. Volcanica also offers these organic Mexican beans as a dark roast, which brings out sweeter flavors such as brown sugar and maple syrup.

Once the whole bean coffee is shipped back to Volcanica headquarters, it’s given a medium roast with an eco-friendly Ovenpak 400 afterburner. Using natural gas helps to control the smoke and harmful gas waste generated as part of the roasting process, resulting in a much smaller carbon footprint. The freshly roasted coffee is shipped within one day so that you can enjoy it at its best.

2. Out of the Grey Mexican Custepec SHG – Best Altura

• Roast level: Medium-Dark

• Region: Chiapas
• Varietal(s): Caturra
• Processing: Washed
• Tasting notes: Dark chocolate, nuts, caramel
• Available as: Both

Click to Check Price

The high mountains of Mexico provide the environment for the top quality beans that are grown here, the highest grade of which are SHG or Strictly High Grown beans. SGH coffee is grown at altitudes over 1,200 meters (4,000 feet), where the slower development of the beans results in a more concentrated flavor.

The Custepec name is associated with top-quality high-altitude beans. The original Finca Custepec was founded in 1956 in the Cuspatec Valley in the Chiapas region. It has since grown into a coffee cooperative that maintains the same standards of the original farm.

Finca Alamo, where these beans are sourced is a new addition to the Custepec group. They grow Caturra beans between patches of rainforest at altitudes of 3,600-4,100 feet. The resulting harvest is a coffee typical of the Chiapas region, with a creamy and nutty flavor palate with caramel sweetness.

3. Fresh Roasted Organic Dark Mexican – Budget Pick

• Roast level: Dark

• Region: Chiapas
• Varietal(s): Catimor, Bourbon
• Processing: Washed
• Tasting notes: Brown sugar, Cashew
• Available as: Whole bean, ground coffee

see on amazon

We usually shy away from recommending coffee from Amazon, but Fresh Roasted is a notable exception. Thanks to high turnover, their coffee doesn’t sit around in warehouses going stale. True to the name, it’s fresh roasted.

This Fresh Roasted coffee from Mexico is a dark-roast lover’s dream. It has the heavy body, creamy mouthfeel, and ultra-bold flavor you crave. It is delightfully sweet and just a little smoky, with robust flavors of brown sugar and creamy cashew. It is certified Organic, Kosher, and GMO free and has been third-party tested to ensure it is free of mold and mycotoxins.

Fresh Roasted Organic Mexican makes an incredible base for a latte; it’s powerful flavor cuts right through the creamy dairy. Or it’s the perfect starting point for a traditional Mexican cafe de olla.

4. Mother Tongue Coffee Bella Vista Women’s Project – Best Value For Money

• Roast level: Medium

• Region: Chiapas
• Varietal(s): Bourbon, Catimor, Caturra
• Processing: Washed
• Tasting notes: Dried Fruit, Hazelnut, Milk Chocolate
• Available as: Whole bean, ground coffee

Click to Check Price

All the chocolate decadence with none of the calories sounds too good to be true. Is it? Mother Tongue Coffee from Chiapas, Mexico gives you your fruity, nutty, and chocolate candy bar fix served in a far healthier way as a sweet morning brew. Not only was this coffee fully washed, but it was dried on raised beds to give it even more nuanced notes of lemonade and red plums. The beans grew at an altitude above 5000 ft and were harvested from December to March. With whole bean and ground coffee options, explore your cup as an espresso, drip, or pour over.

With every sip of this delightful Mexican medium roast, you’ll have the comforting knowledge your brew supports the Bella Vista Women’s Project. This is thanks to Rosalba Cifuentes Tovía paying 20% above local rates and buying at a higher premium from these Women.

Buy this coffee to taste once or subscribe to discover a new single origin coffee per delivery.

Choosing The Best Mexican Coffee

Mexican coffee hasn’t always had a reputation for quality, particularly in North America. In the past, it was only the lower grade beans that made it here, with the cream of the crop finding its way to European countries. But by knowing a little about how beans are grown in Mexico, you can ensure you’ll be buying a coffee you love.

A Brief History of Coffee in Mexico

The birth of coffee growing in Mexico goes back to the late 1700s when the Spanish imported coffee from the Dominican Republic and Cuba. It wasn’t until nearly a century later that it was produced for export, with the beans generally coming from large plantations owned by European settlers. 

After the Mexican Revolution, these haciendas were broken up and the land redistributed to indigenous laborers, creating small-scale farms that still exist today. By the 1970s, the Mexican government realized the potential of the country’s crops and set up INMECAFE to help provide support for farmers, resulting in a production increase of up to 900% in some areas (2). 

Following government reform in the late ’80s, INMECAFE was defunded. At the same time, the international coffee market collapsed, and Mexico’s farmers were left without a way to sell their crops. It’s only recently that the industry is recovering, primarily due to the interest in specialty beans.

The Power of the Cooperative

Farmers’ cooperatives began to emerge after the coffee industry crashed. Farmers needed a line to the global market, and large buyers weren’t willing to negotiate with such small producers individually. 

Cooperatives weren’t just a way of selling their beans, but also exploring more lucrative markets. Organic farming was traditionally the default for Mexican growers, and thanks to the work of cooperatives, the country now is one of the world’s biggest producers of organic coffee (3). The support to earn Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certifications also helps farmers to fetch higher prices.

Growing Regions and Flavor Profiles

The bulk of Mexican coffee beans comes from just four states, all found in the country’s south. These parts all benefit from mountainous terrain and rich volcanic soils but vary in climate. Specialty Mexican beans are generally known for having a light body with bright, dry acidity and sweetness. Flavor notes can run from fruity and floral to tastes of chocolate or nuts, depending on the region.

But it’s not just the geography that differentiates coffee from these areas. Some states have adopted modern technology and varietals, while others are proud to continue with traditional methods and plants.

Mexican Chiapas Coffee Beans

Mexico’s best-known coffee producer is also its biggest, supplying around 40% of its total. The hot, wet climate results in what many consider the best Mexican coffees, known to score above 90 at the Cup of Excellence. Flavors here tend toward cocoa and nuts, with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Mexican Chiapas beans were awarded protected denomination of origin in 2003 (4).

Veracruz Coffee Beans

This was the first state in Mexico to grow coffee, and the crop remains a vital source of income for the region. Veracruz produces some unremarkable coffee in the low-lying coastal regions, but beans from the mountainous area are highly sought after, particularly the Altura Coatepec beans. Denomination of origin applies to Veracruz coffee grown above 2,460 feet (5). Veracruz beans offer notes of chocolate and nuts, with a medium body and more pronounced acidity.

Oaxaca Coffee Beans

Much of Oaxaca is blessed with high-altitude, thanks to the convergence of several mountain ranges. And it’s here that some of Mexico’s most distinctive and in-demand beans are produced. You’ll find this coffee is milder than most, with light citrus acidity and sweet caramel overtones. Coffee grown in Pluma Hidalgo (known as Oaxaca Plume) is the most prestigious.

Puebla Coffee Beans

Puebla grows just 15% of the country’s coffee, but should not be overlooked as a producer. Thanks to the prevalence of volcanoes in the state (some of them active), the terrain is rich with minerals that coffee plants love. Beans from Puebla will develop the tastes of cocoa and spice, with notes of vanilla and citrus.

The Verdict

Mexican coffee beans have so much potential that it deserves exploring, particularly if you appreciate subtle flavors. The Volcanica Mexican Organic is an accessible coffee from a company with a good reputation. But you’ll have just as much fun with any of the beans on our list.