In the tropical cloud forests of Chiapas, Mexico, Ruta Maya Coffee is cultivated in partnership with Indigenous Maya farmer cooperatives who have tended this land for generations.
Since 1990, our family has worked directly with these agricultural communities to grow organic Arabica coffee using traditional methods such as crop rotation and companion planting. These practices help sustain the region’s mineral-rich volcanic soil and support the surrounding biodiversity, creating healthy conditions for coffee to grow season after season. Native pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies play a quiet but essential role in this ecosystem, contributing to the vitality of each harvest.
Every cup reflects this landscape, along with decades of refinement by our master roasters in Austin, Texas, and Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas. Our work is guided by a belief in respectful collaboration across the Americas, built on shared opportunity and reverence for the natural world.
1985
Ruta Maya's founder Tim Sheehan made his start in the beverage industry working as a beer delivery driver while studying journalism at The University of Texas at Austin. Growing up in the sub-tropics of Miami, Florida, Tim was drawn to the richness and beauty of Latin American culture and began traveling to explore opportunities to import products from Cuba, Central America, and Mexico.
1990
Starting with just 5 bags of organic green coffee, Tim taught himself how to roast and opened a family-run coffeehouse and roastery in downtown Austin, Texas. Ruta Maya Coffeehouse became a cultural center, beloved by artists, musicians, UT academics, and people from all walks of life that reflected the counter-culture melting pot of Austin in the '90s. The space hosted yoga and dance classes, live music showcases, children's events, and even a permanent in-house embroiderer named Happy Jack.
2005
Ruta Maya Coffeehouse moved to a second, larger location on South Congress, and carried forward the same ethos that defined its original home. With the support of his new business partner George Doig, a Latin and Classics Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, and a passionate team including Tim's brother Robert Sheehan, the wholesale business expanded. Ruta Maya established relationships with local and regional grocers such as Fresh Plus and H-E-B.
In March 2006, Ruta Maya was included in Food & Wine Magazine’s list of the top ten coffee bars in the United States. Editors spent 410 hours tasting 157 gourmet coffees to identify those that stood out for quality and flavor.
2012
Ruta Maya closed the doors to its brick-and-mortar café, but grew in accessibility and reach. Moving into a commerical warehouse with larger roasters in southeast Austin, the small team was able to serve additional grocers, including Costco, and sell directly to customers nationwide, from Texas to New York, California, and beyond.
2026
Working with the same family-owned organic coffee cooperatives that Tim met over 30 years ago as a curious post-graduate, Ruta Maya has remained committed to supporting sustainable farming and small business practices as we've grown. We now have secondary roasting operations in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, in addition to our Austin base.
Organic
Ruta Maya Coffee is grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. By avoiding substances like DDT, Marathon, and Benzene Hexachloride, we preserve our coffee’s natural quality while caring for the surrounding land, water, and air.
100% Arabica Coffee
Arabica coffee’s smoothness and balanced acidity make it our preferred variety. Grown at high elevations, cooler and more demanding climate conditions slow the coffee’s growth, producing refined flavors once the beans are roasted and ground.
Shade-Grown
Shade-grown coffee ripens gradually beneath a canopy of native trees, allowing natural sugars in the fruit to fully develop before harvest. These shaded environments support diverse bird and butterfly species, help reduce erosion by retaining soil moisture, and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, supporting a more stable climate.
Volcanic Soil
Mineral-rich volcanic soil, high altitude, and a tropical climate provide the ideal environment for exceptional coffee growth
Hand-Picked
Coffee cherries are hand-picked at peak ripeness, while unripe fruit remains on the tree to mature naturally for future harvests. After harvesting, the cherries are carefully sorted so that only fully developed beans are sent to roasting.
Direct Trade
We source our beans directly from Maya coffee cooperatives, rather than working through third-party importers or exporters. Through personal relationships cultivated over the last 30+ years, we're able to pay above-market prices, strengthening farming communities in Mexico and contributing to a more equitable coffee economy.
Roasted To Exacting Standards
Each batch is closely monitored by our roasters, with careful attention to sorting, roasting time, temperature, and airflow to maintain consistency.
Air Cooled
Freshly roasted coffee needs time to cool before it's ready for packaging. Some commercial roasters use water methods to speed up this step, but exposing the beans to water can compromise flavor. We prioritize quality over speed, giving our coffee time to cool naturally.
Since the beginning, we’ve supported cultural and environmental academic research programs, alongside a wide range of community organizations and events.
The Mesoamerica Center at The University of Texas at Austin
Our partnership with The Mesoamerica Center, housed within the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Austin, reflects our long-standing commitment to supporting scholarship, learning, and sustainability in the Mesoamerica region.
As part of our efforts, Ruta Maya is a partial underwriter of the Mesoamerica Meetings, an annual symposium that brings together scholars and participants from around the world to explore the richness of Mesoamerican art, archaeology, writing, and cultural heritage.
In 2017, we created the Ruta Maya Coffee Scholarship in partnership with The Mesoamerica Center and Texas Global, which provides students with the opportunity to study abroad through the Bridging Cultures in Latin America Program in Guatemala and Belize.
Previously, we supported programs at Casa Herrera, the Center’s former academic research facility in the heart of Antigua, Guatemala.
Continuing the legacy of founder Dr. Linda Schele, a pioneer in Maya studies, The Mesoamerica Center is now directed by Dr. David Stuart, a prominent archaeologist and scholar of Maya civilization, and a recognized expert in the decipherment of ancient Maya hieroglyphs.
The Shark Research & Conservation Program at the University of Miami
The Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC) at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science conducts cutting-edge research to protect the ocean’s apex predators and restore balance to marine ecosystems in a rapidly changing world. Founded by marine ecologist and shark researcher Dr. Neil Hammerschlag in 2010, SRC is now led by environmental scientist and Research Associate Professor, Catherine Macdonald. The program focuses on understanding and addressing human-driven threats such as climate impacts, exploitation, and habitat loss on sharks and their ecosystems.
We’re proud to support SRC in advancing their goals of environmental research and education. In 2018, Ruta Maya adopted a shark through SRC’s satellite tracking program, contributing to the ongoing study of this often misunderstood oceanic species and its declining populations, which require urgent scientific and conservation attention. Our support also helps SRC’s outreach efforts, which provide more than 1,000 schoolchildren each year with hands-on field experience in shark research and aim to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.
Events and Collaborations:
- Aspen Ideas: Climate
- Austin Earth Day Festival
- Austin Film Festival
- Austin Pets Alive
- CASA of Travis County
- East Austin Studio Tours
- Kerrville Folk Festival
- Latinitas Austin Art Walk
- Mexic-Arte Museum
- Pancreatic Cancer Awareness
- San Antonio Zoo Monarch Butterfly & Pollinator Festival
- South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica
- The Mesoamerica Meetings
- The National Wildlife Federation
- Yellow Bike Project
...and more.