ENRIQUE LOPEZ

Enrique López is one of the most respected coffee producers in Mexico. A third-generation coffee farmer based in the Sierra Sur mountains of Oaxaca, he's become known for producing some of the country's most exciting speciality coffees through a combination of exceptional farming, careful processing and relentless curiosity. Rather than chasing unusual flavours for the sake of it, every experiment on Finca Chelín starts with one simple goal: making the coffee taste better.

Coffee is grown between 1,600 and 1,750 metres above sea level beneath a canopy of native shade trees, creating ideal conditions for slow cherry maturation and complex flavour development. The farm is home to a collection of carefully selected varieties, and Enrique continues to develop new cultivars and processing methods that showcase just how exciting Mexican speciality coffee can be.

One thing I really admire is Enrique's belief that great coffee starts long before fermentation. He often says that around 80% of a coffee's flavour comes from the variety and the conditions it was grown in, with the remaining 20% coming from the producer's decisions during harvest and processing. It's an approach that keeps the focus firmly on quality at every stage rather than relying on processing to mask mediocre coffee.

Beyond his own farm, Enrique is passionate about helping speciality coffee grow across Oaxaca. He regularly shares his knowledge with neighbouring producers, runs training sessions and opens doors for other farmers to reach international buyers. That willingness to share ideas, alongside his commitment to producing clean, expressive coffees, has made Finca Chelín one of the most respected farms in Mexico's modern coffee scene.