Federación de Sociedades Cooperativas Cafetaleras, Costa Soconusco del Estado de Chiapas (FEDECOS) was founded in 2016 by ten cooperatives from seven municipalities along the Pacific coast of Chiapas, in response to the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma. The Soconusco region is ideal for coffee cultivation due to its moisture and volcanic soil. The federation has enabled the cooperatives to gain visibility in exports through a system of traceability and support for exemplary producers.
FEDECOS represents 708 producers cultivating coffee on 2,276 hectares at altitudes of 600 to 1,900 meters. The coffee is machine pulped, fully washed, and sun-dried on patios. The cooperative promotes Fair Trade practices and sells coffee with Organic, Fair Trade, and 4C Certifications. Social premiums from these certifications have funded projects like building drying patios, fermentation tanks, acquiring pulping machines, and constructing a coffee storage warehouse. FEDECOS also invests in office equipment, production tools, nurseries, and training for producers. Currently, FEDECOS uses premiums to finance plantation renovations with rust-resistant varieties and produce vermicompost from local cattle manure, distributing 60 tons annually to members. These initiatives enhance coffee quality and improve members’ livelihoods.
We carefully select our Robusta coffees to be clean and compelling; however, it is important to note that Robusta has a much different flavor profile and potentially contains more quakers than Arabica coffees. We strongly encourage you to sample Robusta prior to purchase. Please take note that we don’t offer credits or returns of Robusta coffee based on flavor or visual complaints stemming from the above notes.
Country of Origin
Mexico
Region
Soconusco, Chiapas
Producer Type
Cooperative
Co-Op
Federación de Societies Cooperativas Cafetaleras, Costa Soconusco del Estado de Chiapas
Processing
Natural/Dry Processed
Growing Altitude
600m - 1900m
Harvest Season
2023/24
Bag Weight
69 KG BAG
Bag Type
Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species
Robusta
Certifications
Fair Trade USA Certified, Organic Certified NOP
History of Coffee in Mexico
With seeds from the Caribbean, cultivation began in Veracruz, where custom house records indicate a few hundred bags of coffee were exported as early as 1802. But these exports were apparently anomalous because after 1805 coffee would not be exported again for twenty years, after the war of independence. Production did increase over this period, presumably for domestic trade and consumption. In 1817, a planter named Don Juan Antonio Gomez started “intensive cultivation” further south, where coffee thrived at high altitudes. By 1826 there were half a million trees in Cordoba and Mexican coffee was being exported. In 1828, seeds—or possibly plants—from Arabia (Yemen) were planted in Uruapan, near the Pacific coast west of Mexico City, by Jose Mariano Michelena. Trees were brought from Guatemala to be planted in the southern state of Chiapas in 1847, and Oaxaca would become the third largest producer of Mexican coffee by 1889.
Growing Coffee in Mexico
Mexican coffee grows in 15 states throughout the southern half of the country but over 90% comes from four states: Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Puebla. Specialty coffee comes from the highlands of Veracruz on the gulf coast, the mountains of Oaxaca and Chiapas at the southern tip of Mexico. In Veracruz coffee grows from 1,100-1,660 m.a.s.l. In Chiapas coffee grows from 1,300-1,700 m.a.s.l. In Oaxaca coffee grows from 900-1,650 m.a.s.l. Coffee is grown by more than half a million farmers, 95% of these being smallholders cultivating less than three hectares and 85% of Mexico’s coffee farmers are indigenous Mexicans. Most Mexican coffee is grown under shade and Mexico is one of the world’s largest producers of certified organic coffee and Fair Trade coffee. Most Mexican coffee is Bourbon, Catura, Maragogype, or Mundo Novo, though other varieties can be found. Mexico grows almost no Robusta.
RegionSoconusco, Chiapas
Producer TypeCooperative
ProcessingNatural/Dry Processed
Bag TypeGrain Pro / Ecotact
Plant SpeciesRobusta
Min Growing Altitude600m
Max Growing Altitude1900m
Co-OpFederación de Societies Cooperativas Cafetaleras, Costa Soconusco del Estado de Chiapas
On SaleNo
Top LotNo
StatusSpot
CertificationsFair Trade USA Certified, Organic Certified NOP