Puebla

Puebla is Mexico’s most productive coffee state. In the mountains of the Sierra Norte, the Nororiental and the Sierra Negra, smallholders grow arabica at 700–1,800 metres, and after replanting with rust-resistant varieties they now get more coffee from each hectare than anyone else in Mexico. It grows about a fifth of the national crop, third after Chiapas and Veracruz.

The short version

• Mexico’s third coffee state: 21.1% of the crop in 2024/25.
• The highest yields in Mexico, more than double the national average.
• Sierra Norte, Nororiental and Sierra Negra, at 700–1,800 m.
• Bright acidity, balanced body, fruit, flowers, nuts and chocolate.
• More than 43,000 production units.

What does Puebla coffee taste like?

The state government describes Puebla’s arabica, including rust-tolerant Catimor and Sarchimor, as having a bright acidity, a balanced body and complex profiles with fruity, floral, nutty and chocolate notes. Its catalogue of local roasters lists farms at about 1,100–1,200 metres in Cuetzalan, Zacatlán and Huitzilan de Serdán, growing varieties such as Marsellesa and Garnica.

Where is it grown?

In Puebla’s mountains: the Sierra Norte, the Nororiental and the Sierra Negra, at 700–1,800 metres, in a temperate climate with fertile soils, the state government says. USDA’s own report on Mexican coffee is illustrated with an arabica farm in Huitzilan.

How much coffee does it grow?

Measure	Figure	Source
Share of Mexico’s crop, 2024/25	21.1%	SIAP, via La Crónica
Coffee cherry, 2021	146,164 t (15.5%)	SIAP
Area planted, 2021	70,674 ha	SIAP
Coffee cherry	More than 250,000 t, worth about 2,505 million pesos	State government
Production units	More than 43,000	State government

Puebla’s share has grown fast, from 15.5% in 2021 to 21.1% in 2024/25.

Why are yields so high?

USDA forecasts Puebla’s yields at 13 bags a hectare, more than double Mexico’s average, thanks to good soils, investment in rust-resistant plants and good infrastructure near big cities. The state government says yields rose by 60% between 2019 and 2025, from 9.2 to 17 quintales a hectare, the best in the country. Puebla is also one of Mexico’s robusta-growing states, USDA says.

When is it harvested?

Mexico’s main harvest runs from about November to April, SIAP says.

Puebla and other Mexican origins

• Coffee in Mexico: the whole country, its harvest and its history.
• Veracruz: where Mexican coffee began.
• Chiapas: Mexico’s biggest coffee state.