A first-generation (F1) hybrid originating from a cross between T5296, a rust-resistant descendant of the Timor Hybrid, and an Ethiopian landrace from the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) coffee collection (accession ET01), originally collected in Ethiopia by the ORSTOM/IRD collecting mission. Selection of Mundo Maya was done by ECOM-CIRAD in Nicaragua.
F1 hybrids in Central America are part of an effort by breeders to increase the genetic diversity of varieties in the region since the traditional American varieties are severely genetically constricted.
Typically, F1 hybrid parents are chosen to be genetically distant from one another; this distance maximizes hybrid vigor, which translates into high yields and overall vigor (for example, tolerance to frost), without losses in cup quality or disease resistance. There are only a handful of F1 hybrid coffee varieties in the world, most developed in the last 10 years, and only recently commercially available to farmers.