Over the three years since the launch of the *Pasaporte del Café* (Coffee Passport) project in Tijuana, the number of coffee shops in the city has seen a net increase of 56%. Following the COVID-19 health crisis, reports from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in 2023 listed 320 registered coffee shops in the city.
This growth is considered “net” because the actual rate of openings and closures among specialty coffee establishments in Tijuana is likely incalculable; many businesses cease operations before ever formally registering with the Ministry of Finance or the City Council. This phenomenon is part of what has been documented by Job Leal, the creator of the *Pasaporte del Café* project in Tijuana.
“Over these three years of the project, I have grown personally, and I have grown alongside the coffee shops, gaining a better understanding of what people are looking for. We now have several versions of the passport available. We’ve released special editions, and—capitalizing on the recent boom in popularity—we’ve even launched a ‘Matcha Journal,’ which has been very well received by the public,” explained Job.
Job Leal’s project, titled “Que Llueva Café” (Let It Rain Coffee), maintains a registry of specialty coffee shops in Tijuana that have either partnered with the initiative or agreed to invest in stickers and stamps to participate in a program designed to foster a sense of community and belonging among Tijuana’s coffee patrons.
“Currently, we have approximately 500 coffee shops registered within the project across the city of Tijuana—spanning from Playas de Tijuana all the way to Boulevard 2000—which represents the full scope of our coverage area at this time. Consequently, our figures have shown significant growth,” stated Leal.
As the variety and styles of specialty coffee offerings expanded, the project also began to incorporate other beverages—such as Matcha, an East Asian tea—which has cultivated its own dedicated community. This community has enthusiastically embraced a specialized variation of the project, much in the same way that coffee patrons who bring their pets along to the shops have embraced the initiative.
