Finca San José Espresso

The Veracruz region stretches from the coastal plains along the Gulf of Mexico steeply up into the mountain ranges. This is where the history of Mexican coffee began, when Spanish settlers brought the first plants to the country. In the heart of this historic landscape, near the city of Coatepec, lies Finca San José, owned by Alejandro Martinez Anaya.

Alejandro farms a total of 250 hectares of land. He places a particular focus on the Anacafe 14 variety—a naturally occurring cross between Pacamara and a type of Catimor—which he cultivates on around 60 hectares. This variety was first discovered in 1980 and later established as a resilient variety by the Anacafe coffee association. It is gaining importance today because it has proven to be a robust answer to the challenges of coffee leaf rust, which has put many farms under pressure in recent years.

The processing on the farm reflects patience and precision. After harvest, the cherries are first fermented whole for 18 hours. The following day, the fruit is removed and the beans are washed. The coffee is then dried for an unusually long period of 32 days under a so-called “Casa Elba,” a special roof structure that allows for slow, gentle drying.

This effort marks a clear shift in the image of Mexican coffee. While the country's beans have historically often been known as a solid, nutty base for blends, producers like Alejandro now focus on quality and complex profiles. By combining resistant hybrids with precise fermentation, they create coffees that redefine the potential of the historic Coatepec growing region and go far beyond the classic standard.