Coffee Culture in Yucatán

It’s always entertaining to read social media posts from recent arrivals who loudly proclaim their disdain for one certain coffee chain, claiming that it has “destroyed” the local coffee culture. For those of us who have been here for a while, this smacks of virtue signaling (boo, Big Coffee) and reflects a lack of understanding about what coffee culture is—or was—in Mérida.

Arguably, there was no real coffee “culture” in Mérida until very, very recently. The Yucatán Península has traditionally been, and largely still is—especially outside the urban centers of Mérida and Valladolid—a Coca-Cola culture. Yes, locals drink Coca-Cola for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (Note: Bepensa Bebidas, the local Coca-Cola bottler, is an advertiser in Yucatán Today).

Those coming from places like México City, Chiapas, and Veracruz, who were used to enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning or after dinner, were frustrated by the lack of quality options. Many resorted to having their coffee sent to Mérida by relatives or bringing it back when visiting their hometowns and states.

In ancient times (ca. 1980s), if you ordered a cup of coffee in Mérida, you received a plastic (melamine) cup perched on a matching, often chipped, plastic saucer, accompanied by hot water. On a good day, you might get Nescafé—a jar of it, at least—along with a spoon, as you were expected to make your own instant coffee. If you wanted café con leche, there was another jar, this time containing Coffee Mate or its generic counterpart. With those two powders, you could recreate an almost decent facsimile of a cup of coffee.

In the 90s, a Cuban immigrant named Mario opened one of Mérida’s first “coffee” shops in a small shoebox locale outside Super Maz in Plaza Fiesta, the second of Mérida’s attempts at a mall. Cuban Mario and his little establishment served americano coffee and what he called a cappuccino—a blended mix of black coffee, sugar, and Carnation (evaporated) canned milk, served in a styrofoam cup, topped with a sprinkle of ground bark resembling cinnamon. That was it: cappuccino, Mérida style. There was nowhere to sit and enjoy that preparation, however, beyond the mall’s food court. 

Then, in 1994, Kukis by Maru opened their first store in the newly inaugurated Gran Plaza mall, offering a real layered cappuccino, complete with actual foam, espresso, and steamed milk, alongside their home-made cookies. (Note: the author of this article is directly related to the owner of said cookie shop). They sold hundreds daily on weekends and holidays and the transparent plastic cups became collector’s items. 

A few other places soon followed, but for the most part, coffee in Mérida remained an afterthought until a few years later when the Italian Coffee Company opened their first North-American-style store in downtown Mérida, featuring baked goods, real coffee drinks prepared by trained baristas, and an air-conditioned space in which to enjoy them. Not too long after that, in 2007, those folks from Seattle deemed Mérida ready for its first Starbucks. 

These two companies moving in completely transformed the Yucatán coffee landscape. Suddenly, real baristas and proper espresso machines became all the rage. People began to develop a taste for coffee in all its forms, from black to frozen or frappé.

Nowadays, independent coffee shops and roasters abound in Mérida and, as in any North American city, coffee culture is alive and well. Meridanos and visitors alike now relax at all hours of the day on comfortable armchairs and couches in air-conditioned comfort, sipping a variety of caffeinated options while doing homework or playing digital nomad, even having real conversations with others. Any self-respecting restaurant won’t even consider not having at least a Nespresso machine for after-dinner drinks. Driving through even the tiniest of Yucatán villages will often yield a hand-lettered sign offering frappés. Even the ubiquitous convenience stores have jumped on the coffee bandwagon, with sophisticated self-serve vending machines offering surprisingly decent drink choices including americano, espresso, lattes and cappuccinos, all to go. These are being snapped up by all segments of Yucatán society; not just the more affluent who might be accustomed to a better coffee option. 

And while Coca-Cola is still a choice for many to start their day—look at any construction site on a any given morning to see the bricklayers carrying chilled two-liter bottles along with their charritos or Globito crackers—the lineups in the mornings at coffee shops and convenience stores throughout the city and region, seem to suggest that the culture is shifting and coffee has become an integral part of the Yucatán diet.

First published in Yucatán Today print and digital magazine no. 449, in May 2025.