Specialty Coffee Passport Boosts Consumption in Mexico City

Despite being one of the world’s leading coffee producers and exporters, Mexico consumes only a portion of its own harvest. To promote domestic consumption, the Specialty Coffee Passport initiative connects consumers with local producers and specialty coffee shops in Mexico City.

The project is led by Todos por el Cafe (Everyone for Coffee), a collective formed during the COVID-19 lockdown to support the coffee industry and ensure access to quality coffee across the capital. “To participate in the passport, a cafe must be a specialty coffee shop with first- or second-level contact with the producer,” said Ricardo Otero, Representative of the collective.

Mexico has more than 500,000 coffee producers across 14 states and 480 municipalities, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER). For the 2024/2025 cycle, national production is estimated at 3.87 million 60kg bags, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The 2025 edition of the passport includes 59 participating cafes. Visitors receive a stamp for each visit when ordering a coffee beverage, along with exclusive promotions and discounts. Users can add personal details and a photograph, similar to a real passport, and each booklet is numbered for authenticity.

Each page lists the cafe, branch locations, the corresponding promotion, and a QR code linking to the cafe’s Instagram profile. Visitors can rate the coffee, service, and overall experience. This year, cafes also display a plaque confirming participation and a QR code for evaluations. “All these coffee bars were selected by us, and we want to ensure that they are properly attended and that visitors receive the coffee we promised,” Otero said.

The initiative aims to ensure quality and traceability of Mexican coffee while fostering a community that values producers, who face challenges such as low prices, limited support, climate change, and crop pests. “What is the problem? The farmer is the one who receives the least reward... Unfortunately, we cannot make resources reach the field as powerfully as we want, which is why we have this simple rule for the passport,” Otero said.

The leading coffee-producing states are Chiapas with 41–44% of total national production, Veracruz with 24%, and Puebla with 15.3%, according to SADER. These states also rank among the most vulnerable in the country. In 2024, Chiapas recorded 66% of its population in multidimensional poverty, Veracruz 44.5%, and Puebla 43.4%, according to INEGI and CONEVAL. “Large property owners often lack enough labor to maintain their crops,” Otero added.

The 2025 passport has a print run of 12,000, potentially expanding to 15,000, with an estimated national economic impact of MX$108 million (US$5.8 million), according to Otero. The collective is developing state-specific passports for other regions, including Morelia, Michoacan. The passport is available at participating cafés and is valid until September 2026.

Since its launch, the initiative has promoted the sale of 2.5 million cups of coffee and generated a total economic impact of MX$343 million over four years. The passport also fosters competitions and activities for the barista community. In the 2025 World AeroPress Championship Mexico, more than 500 baristas competed, with a winner from Oaxaca.