Guides
How to buy green coffee in Mexico
If you roast coffee, or are about to start, this guide explains the forms coffee is sold in across Mexico, who sells it, what to ask before you pay and how to use the directory to reach green coffee suppliers in each producing state.
The forms coffee is sold in
Coffee changes name as it moves through processing, and each form has a different buyer. These are the same options as the “Form” filter in the directory.
- Cherry
- The freshly picked fruit. It goes to a wet mill close to the plot, because it has to be processed soon after picking.
- Parchment
- The bean once pulped and dried, still inside its husk. Many growers and cooperatives store and sell their harvest this way.
- Green
- The hulled bean, cleaned and graded, ready to roast. In Mexico it is also called café oro. It is what a roaster buys and what gets exported.
- Roasted or ground
- The finished product, for cafés, shops and consumers.
If you are going to roast, green coffee is what you want. Buying parchment only works if you have access to a dry mill that can hull and grade it.
Processes and what they change
The process is how the pulp is removed and the bean is dried. It shapes the cup profile and often the price. Washed is the most widespread process in Mexico.
- Washed
- The cherry is pulped, the bean is fermented to loosen the mucilage, then washed and dried.
- Natural
- The cherry is dried whole and the pulp is removed afterwards.
- Honey
- The cherry is pulped and the bean is dried with part of the mucilage still on it.
- Anaerobic
- The coffee is fermented in sealed containers before drying. It is combined with any of the processes above.
The name of a process does not guarantee a result: two natural coffees can taste very different. That is why coffee is bought on a sample.
Who sells green coffee
- Growers and farms
- They sell their own harvest. Some deliver green coffee; others only cherry or parchment.
- Cooperatives and grower organisations
- They pool their members’ coffee, usually run their own mill and can offer larger and certified lots.
- Mills
- They process coffee for others and often trade it as well.
- Exporters and traders
- They buy from many growers, prepare the lots and sell inside and outside the country.
In the directory you will find them under the Sellers, Mills and Exporters roles. One company can hold more than one role.
When coffee is available: harvest by state
Supply follows the harvest. These are the seasons documented in our guide to coffee-growing states; states missing from the list have no documented season there.
- Chiapas
- October to May, with the bulk of the picking from November to March
- Veracruz
- November to March in the Coatepec area
- Oaxaca
- November to April in the Pluma area, in three pickings: pepena, intermedia and arrase
- Guerrero
- December to February in La Montaña
- Jalisco
- January to March, in three pickings
- Estado de México
- November to April, peaking between January and March
Coffee from a harvest is offered during the months after picking. Always ask which crop year a lot comes from and how it has been stored.
What to ask a supplier
- Sample: whether they send a sample of the very lot on offer, not of a similar one.
- Minimum order: the smallest quantity they sell and how it is packed.
- Crop and stock: which crop year the coffee is from and how much is left.
- Origin: region, municipality or farm, variety and process.
- Certifications: ask for the current certificate and check whose name is on it.
- Price and delivery: what the price includes, where the coffee is delivered and who pays the freight.
- Invoice: whether they can issue one, when you need it.
How to use the directory filters
Open Sellers and narrow by state. The “Form”, “Process”, “Species” and “Certification” filters cut the list down to what you need, and “Minimum order”, “Offers samples” and “Exports” help you rule companies out. A filter only finds companies whose listing records that detail: a company not showing up does not mean it does not offer it.
Listings in the directory are researched from public sources or registered by the company itself. Only some carry the “Verified” badge, which is granted when a company claims its listing and submits evidence. Treat any listing without that badge as a starting point and confirm the details with the company.
Every listing has a contact form. If the company has not claimed its listing yet, it is not notified of your message; in that case also use the contact channels the listing publishes.
Where to look in the directory
The directory listings that go with this guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between parchment coffee and green coffee?
Parchment is the dried bean still inside its husk; green coffee, called café oro in Mexico, is that same bean once a dry mill has hulled and graded it. A roaster needs green coffee.
Can I buy green coffee directly from a grower?
Yes. Many growers and cooperatives sell direct. Before you commit, confirm that they can deliver green coffee and not only parchment, how they ship and whether they can invoice you.
What is the minimum amount of green coffee I have to buy?
There is no rule: each supplier sets its own. In the directory you can filter by minimum order where the listing states it, and it is worth asking in your first message.
Are the companies in the directory verified?
Listings in the directory are researched from public sources or registered by the company itself. Only some carry the “Verified” badge, which is granted when a company claims its listing and submits evidence. Treat any listing without that badge as a starting point and confirm the details with the company.
Other guides
- Coffee for your business: how to choose a roaster or supplier
- Mexican coffee exporters: how to find and assess them
The figures, dates and seasons in this guide come from the guide to coffee-growing states, which lists its sources.