Mexican Coffee Culture
by Tara A. Spears – Editor Nayarit Edition
The poets have called it “the black nectar of dreams”. As a drink or as a grain, coffee has witnessed the great events of modern Mexican history. It doesn’t matter what your economic status, most people could not face the day without their cup (or two) of steaming coffee.
Ever since the shepherds threw some beans in hot water to stay warm, the energizing properties of coffee have appealed to soldiers, students, workers, anyone wanting to stay awake. While the history of coffee goes back to antiquity, coffee did not arrive in Mexico until the late 1700s. But ever since coffee’s introduction, there has developed an entire culture around the coffee production industry. Coffee production has an enormous importance for the Mexican rural worker and in the national economy.
A couple of decades passed from when coffee was first available in Mexico before coffee became popular nationally because chocolate was more rooted in the Mexican consumer habits. But once the Mexicans acquired the taste for this drink, coffee went straight to the hearts of all consumers. To tap this demand for the beverage, the first coffee shops began to emerge in Mexico City. Since then, coffee shops have popped up in every small town and every urban area. Jaltemba Bay even has its very own production company, Occidental. You can watch them made a special blend to your specifications. 
According to Carlos Sanchez, “The coffee cafes in Mexico were, from their beginning, meeting places to talk political conspiracies, read newspapers and discuss literature. The political turmoil that was experienced in Mexico at the same time that drinking coffee was trending, created a special setting in the coffee cafes of the city where all classes met to discuss the viceroyalty events and the emergence of the first ideas of independence.” You could see revolutionaries sharing a table with campestinos and shop keepers, businessmen and taxi drivers. Many a cause was formulated with a pot of Mexican coffee.
In the late 1980’s Mexican coffee growers decided to develop organic coffee, which apart from maintaining the ecological balance of the soil, is free of chemicals and contaminants, and the use of agricultural waste through recycling and composting. It was at this time that the Mexican coffee plantations began growing coffee under shade to help conserve the natural environment, to avoid rust infection on plants without using chemicals, and to protect the aquifers. Mexican organic coffee is sold in the most demanding markets of the world: United States, Canada and Europe.
Records show that Mexico first exported coffee in 1802. Since then, Mexican coffee production is ranked fifth in the world market. The most favorable climate for coffee cultivation is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The coffee plantations that are within this strip provide the best qualities and those that are outside are marginal for the crop. Within the strip, suitable areas for cultivation are determined by climate, soil, and altitude. The coffee tree needs favorable temperatures on average of 20 ° C. and rainfall of 2500 mm.
In Mexico coffee is grown in 12 states: Chiapas, Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi, Nayarit, Colima, Jalisco, Queretaro, Tabasco. The coffee harvesting season starts in September and ends in March of the following year. Mexico has the highest quality grains, called high altitude coffee, which is the coffee grown above 900 meters above sea level. High altitude coffee is one of the most sought after types of this beverage.
Coffee occupies the first place as a Mexican agricultural product generating foreign exchange and jobs in rural areas. Due to the characteristics of the crop, coffee plantations use women, men and children that make up the whole family for the tasks of cleaning, harvesting and benefiting from the grain.
According to Carlos Sanchez, “From their inception, coffee cafes in Mexico became the meeting place to talk about political conspiracies, read newspapers or to discuss literature. The political turmoil that was happening in Mexico at that time found a special arena in the cafes of the city, where all classes met to discuss the viceroyalty events. It was in the public coffee shops that the first ideas of independence emerged.”
The coffee tradition within Mexico has grown over the years. Today Mexican coffee shops offer the purest and most excellent specialty beans, utilizing the newest brewing techniques, designer blends, and fancy whipped concoctions that elevate coffee drinking to a new sensory experience. But, above the flavor and tradition, coffee is by itself a historical event contained in a cup.
