Mexican specialty coffee is something of a rarity here in South Africa, so we’re always excited when we get a chance to taste it. We’re even more excited when it comes to us via our friends at Origin Coffee Roasting, as we’ve enjoyed quite a few of their Mexican releases in the past. This particular release, a decaffeinated lot, comes from the southernmost state of Chiapas, a humid, tropical region once characterised by sprawling rainforests that have largely been cleared for agriculture and livestock farming today. Chiapas is actually Mexico’s second largest agricultural producer overall, and is in fact responsible for around 60% of the country’s coffee output.

As is the case for many of Mexico’s states, Chiapas has a long history of conflict, dating all the way back to Spain’s colonial invasion in the 16th century. More recently, through the 20th century and into the present, Chiapas has faced significant socioeconomic challenges that have led to numerous intrastate conflicts and consistent turmoil in which coffee has sometimes played a significant role. 

In the early 20th century, coffee was already an important crop for Chiapas. However, coffee farming was notoriously labour-intensive, so recruiters would often attract workers with advanced pay and other incentives, only to trap them into a form of indentured servitude with debts. The tension between labourers and land-owners would often lead to worker uprisings in the state.

Most recently, poor quality farmland, severe poverty, and continued political crises in Chiapas from the ‘70s onwards resulted in numerous workers’ and indigenous peoples’ uprisings and violent federal response that eventually led to armed struggle started in the mid ‘90s by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. A far-left political and militant organisation, the Zapatista Movement still controls a significant amount of Chiapas today. 

Indeed, Chiapas’ agricultural sector currently favours common over private land ownership, and so coffee farming is handled by smallholder producers, often direct descendants of indigenous tribes. These farmers deliver their harvest to the San Cristobal de las Casas and Yajalón buying stations in northern Chiapas, and take great pride in their work, doing everything from planting to harvesting by hand.

Origin’s notes

• Flavour: Sweet spice, clementines, cacao, coconut, prunes, sweet savoury finish
• Body: Silky
• Acidity: Melon, juicy
• Roast: Medium
• Suggested brewing methods: AeroPress, siphon, plunger, espresso and milk, V60/filter

Coffee details from Origin

• Country: Mexico
• Region: Chiapas
• Owners: Numerous smallholding farmers who deliver their harvest to San Cristobal de las Casas and Yajalón washing stations
• Altitude: 900 - 1100 masl
• Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Typica and Catuai
• Processing: Washed