Mexico Chiapas Highlands Washed SHG 2025

Chiapas Highlands Green Coffee Beans

Mexico’s southernmost state, Chiapas, is home to a vibrant network of smallholder farmers whose livelihoods are closely tied to coffee. Farms stretch across the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains at elevations of 1,200–1,750 masl, where steady rainfall, fertile volcanic soils, and a dense forest canopy create ideal growing conditions.

 

The Chiapas region, bordering Guatemala’s Huehuetenango, shares many of the same complex cup qualities—chocolate-forward with a balanced sweetness and gentle fruit undertones—that have made the area one of Mexico’s most important coffee producers.

 

Washed Processing

Chiapas farmers traditionally use the washed (wet) process, which has long been a hallmark of Mexican coffee. Ripe cherries are pulped, fermented, washed clean of mucilage, and dried on patios or raised beds. This careful process highlights the region’s clarity and balance, showcasing classic Chiapas flavor notes: milk chocolate, roasted almond, gentle nuttiness, dried-fruit sweetness, and a touch of citrus.

 

The result is a clean, versatile coffee that shines across brew methods and represents the best of Chiapas’ agricultural excellence.

 

Mexico Coffee Grading (SHG)

This coffee is graded Strictly High Grown (SHG), meaning it was cultivated at elevations of 1,200 masl and above. The SHG designation indicates slower cherry development in cooler mountain climates, producing denser beans with more nuanced flavor.

 

Mexico Coffee History

Coffee arrived in Mexico in the late 18th century, introduced by Spanish colonists. By the 19th century, it had become a cornerstone of Chiapas’ economy, where the combination of fertile soils and high elevations proved ideal for cultivation. Today, Mexico ranks among the top coffee producers in the world, with Chiapas consistently leading national output. Despite challenges like climate change and a crippling leaf rust outbreak that decimated farms in the 2010s, Chiapas farmers continue to drive innovation and preserve the region’s heritage, delivering coffees that embody both tradition and resilience.