Coffee Journeys


From Mexico's Mountains to Your Cup

Exploring the Coffee Cultivation of Bird Friendly Mexico

Written by
Kevin Kehus
Published on
March 20th, 2026


In January 2026 Chesapeake Coffee Rosters team members Kevin Kehus, Justice Busick and Lucas Kehus traveled to the Nayarita province in Mexico to visit the producer groups that supply our Organic and Bird Friendly coffees. Nayarit is a little known coffee producing region in Mexico.  We are fortunate to have found the San Cristobal coffee importers and their coffees from the region around Tepic.  On this trip to Tepic, Mexico and were hosted by Jim Kosalos and Jacob Frankel of San Cristobal Coffee Importers and our producer partner group the Grupo Terruño de Nayarit (GTN) from whom we purchase our Bird Friendly coffees. We are deeply grateful to both GTN and San Cristobal for welcoming us and sharing their work in Bird Friendly coffee production.  We are excited to get the next shipment of coffees from this year’s harvest, mostly coffees grown in forests in the mountains outside of the Presidio de los Reyes town.


Join us as we recap the journey through the words of CCR GM Kevin Kehus. 


The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) coffee certification enable farmers to receive premium pricing for organic coffees grown in forested environments that protect the habitats of resident and migratory bird species. Coffee grown in forest ecosystems promotes biodiversity, supports wildlife, protects watersheds, and contributes to the long-term resilience of the communities and supply chains involved. At CCR, we know that Bird Friendly coffees strengthen environmental sustainability and help maintain healthy supply chains.


San Cristobal Coffee Importers sources coffees from Ethiopia, Mexico, and Peru. CCR began purchasing Bird Friendly certified Ethiopian coffees from San Cristobal in 2022. Recognizing our interest in organic offerings, San Cristobal introduced us to GTN’s Organic Mexican coffees.  These coffees are produced by a coalition of more than 600 farmers across seven communities around the city of Tepic in the Nayarit Province, east of Puerta Vallarta.  Three years ago, we encouraged San Cristobal and GTN to get Bird Friendly certification after hearing about the coffee production being done in the native forest on the Cora lands. They followed through on that suggestion and we were overjoyed to be able to support the preservation of these important habitats.  On this trip, we visited the indigenous coffee growers from the Cora peoples who live around the village of Presidio de los Reyes.


In 2024, severe winds devastated crops across the GTN community, reducing the harvest to about 4,000 lbs and forcing a year of rebuilding. This was a significant setback for our Bird Friendly sourcing from Mexico. Fortunately, the 2025 harvest was much stronger, and we purchased nearly all of the Bird Friendly coffee produced by GTN farmers—13,000 lbs. This year we intend to purchase a full 100 bags of this coffee (15,200 lbs), if there is enough to go around. 


Day 1 & 2: San Cristobal Coffee Lab in Tepic and the Community of La Yerba 


We began our trip at the offices of Café Sustentables de Mexico (CSM), the organization that manages production and export for the communities that make up GTN. Their bifurcated company model allows producer groups to focus on representing farmers while CSM handles extension work, exports, and quality control. All coffee produced is purchased by San Cristobal Coffee Importers for sale in the U.S.


At the CSM sample roasting facility, we saw biogenerators used to cultivate beneficial fungi and bacteria for organic farming—an essential tool for growers who cannot use petroleum based fertilizers in organic production. Jim Kosalos, founder of San Cristobal and CSM, demonstrated his custom designed sample roaster and huller. These machines were designed to bring sample roasting technology at affordable pricing to coffee-producing communities. 


The day was spent learning about the business of coffee production from the cooperative offices that work directly with producer communities. On thing that stood out was their payment model for farmers. Farmers are paid immediately for their red cherries, then receive additional premiums after export and sales are completed. This is a different model that would be used if a local middleman (known as a “coyote”) were to come and purchase the picked coffee and then sell it to unknown processors, and never take notice of quality pricing down the line.


Next, we visited the La Yerba women’s producer group, from whom we’ve purchased coffee in past years. We witnessed the early harvest and the delivery process at the community weigh station. Farmers bring red cherries weekly, have them weighed and evaluated, and receive payment on the spot. 


We spent an hour picking cherries ourselves—barely two pounds. Filling a basket would yield enough for only one‑pound bag of roasted coffee. Experiencing this firsthand was a humbling reminder of the labor behind every cup. How many coffee trees worth of cherries do I drink every year if one tree produces enough for about a pound of finished coffee? 

Day 3 & 4: Eight Miles Up 


GTN coordinates processing and export for roughly 600 small producers. Among them are 22 families of the Cora indigenous tribe who live near El Presidio de los Reyes in the mountains to the East of Tepic, from whom we purchased about 13,000 lbs of processed coffee last year. Their work is extraordinary: clearing under hundreds of trees, applying natural fertilizers, and preparing drying beds on steep hillsides. Cherries are hand‑picked and transported by donkey or mule in 100‑lb bags through the mountain valleys because there are no roads that lead from the hills.

Fermentation and Drying 

Coffee cherries are allowed to ferment for up to three days, followed by 14 days of raking every 15 minutes to two hours. Once dried, they’re re-bagged into 120‑lb sacks and loaded onto eight donkeys for a six‑mile trek down the mountain. Natural-processed coffees—our request—are about 20% heavier than washed coffees to carry down the hill, requiring even more labor and transport. More donkey trips. 


We hadn’t realized how much additional work natural processing required, but we did know we needed to pay more for it. The weight of our purchasing decisions—and their impact on 22 families—is significant. Last year, we bought 80% of their 15,000 kg production. That represents more than 50,000 lbs of cherries picked, transported to a drying bed, dried, and the resulting 13,000 lbs carried down the mountain on the back of a burro. 

Into the Jungle 

For this part of the journey, we traveled eight miles into the mountains with Jacob from San Cristobal, Fredy from GTN, and community members Rodrigo and Sr. Griseldo. Rodrigo led the mule carrying our bags. Fredy is a member of the Cora tribe, and also the agronomist for GTN. He provides technical expertise to all of the 600 families that are working within the GTN umbrella. Along the way, we picked, tasted and measured cherries that had a 19-20 Brix measurement. Brix is a measurement of sugars in the cherry. This meant that the cherries still needed another 10 – 14 days before reaching full ripeness.

We met producers preparing to move into the mountains for the season. The views across Cora territory were stunning.

That night, we stayed with Fredy’s family in their mountain shelters and enjoyed handmade tortillas from red corn grown 1,000 feet below, beans, and fresh cheese.

After camping overnight, we hiked down two valleys the next day, completing about 20 miles in total.

We are incredibly fortunate to work with a community so dedicated to Organic and Bird Friendly coffee. 


Bird Sightings 

We saw or heard: Hummingbirds, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Brown-backed Solitaire, Turkey Vulture, Black-throated Magpie‑Jay, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Military Macaw 

Day 5: Representative Meetings at Sociedades de Café de Mexico (SCM) 


On our final day, we met representatives from six of the seven GTN communities. During harvest, these elected members meet weekly in Tepic to discuss the harvest and the economics around buying coffee. The group (producers themselves) decides how much they will pay to the producers in a democratic manner. We witnessed the discussion about cash flow, coyote pricing, and the potential premiums paid out later in the year after companies like CCR have purchased the beans.  


They compared their prices with those offered by “coyotes”—independent buyers who pay cash up front and sell cherries to mills. Coyote prices are often higher initially, but SCM’s model provides later premiums based on quality and market performance. Over time, producers typically earn more through SCM, provided they can wait for the process to unfold (processing, exports, sales, return of finances). This is an exercise in long range trust building and should be studied more for the strength that endures in such a relationship. 


Each week, representatives review market conditions, set a uniform price for all members, and reinforce quality standards—including Organic and Bird Friendly certifications, which we also pay premiums for.  


After the meeting, we visited the drying lot in Compostela on our way to Puerto Vallarta and back to Maryland. Over the previous three days, about 26,000 kg (57,000 lbs) of cherries had arrived for drying. This will yield roughly 10,000 lbs of green coffee, about 80% of which will be export grade and sorted into certifications such as Women‑Led, Organic, Conventional, and Bird Friendly, depending on the community and certifications that each is working under.


We want to extend a very special thank you to: