About This Coffee
Dr. Enrique Ferrufino, a surgeon by trade, was born and raised on a coffee farm in the mountains of Matagalpa in 1956. Together with his wife Silvia, a pediatrician, the Ferrufino family decided to go into the coffee business in 1992 and bought Finca Aurora and Finca Anatolia in 2004. They inspired in their three children a love for coffee from a very early age. Since they acquired these farms, the whole family has worked together to produce great coffee.
One of the core values of the business is to inspire people through coffee. Throughout the years they have invested in providing workers with fair wages, safe living conditions, health services, food and education. They also work with smaller producers in the area to help them improve their farming practices.
Cultivation
Preserving nature is a top priority for the Ferrufino family. They work using a “biodynamic” model. This means farming is done in tune with the local ecosystem. They only use renewable energy and work diligently on conserving water resources and natural habitats. The farm houses a variety of native trees that are home to many species of birds and wildlife. These trees also provide the plantation with shade and fertilize the soils with organic matter, which protects the land from erosion, droughts and floods.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked and processed on the farm. Cherry is dried on raised beds where it is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 30 days for cherry to dry.
About Catuai
Catuai is a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra that’s commonly cultivated across Central America and Brazil. Its dwarf size means that Catuai can be planted closely together to maximize yields. Catuai is available in both red and yellow varieties, but there is no discernable difference in taste between the two.
Catuai was first researched in the 1940s and was introduced to Brazil in 1972. It is now common across Brazil for its good quality cup. Catuai is also common in Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica, where it makes up significant portions of the total coffee produced. Catuai is known for having a fruity and complex taste profile that does well at high altitudes. The variety is highly susceptible to Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) and Coffee Berry Disease (CBD).
Coffee in Nicaragua
Nicaragua may not be the most famous producer of Central American coffee, but it has great potential. The country is known as the land of ‘los lagos y los volcanes’ (lakes and volcanos) and has many coffee growing ‘pockets’ that few have heard of or experienced. Many producers in the country are experimenting with new varieties and processing methods, making it a specialty origin to watch.
Many coffee producers in Nicaragua today are buoyed by cooperatives that provide a wide array of services, supports and opportunity. As seen in the win of the ‘El Acuerdo de las Tunas’, where 3,000 landless workers won land rights, collective action by farmers can be far more effective at enacting widespread change than the advocacy of individual farmers.
Cooperatives and farmer associations in Nicaragua encompass a large percentage of the country’s coffee producers, and they are taking their destiny in their own hands. By putting great emphasis on quality and by aiming for the international specialty coffee industry, cooperatives and farmers associations are helping their members gain influence and import that will, hopefully, garner enough profit to enable farmers to continue to improve and invest in their farms and their families.
Large and medium-sized (10+ hectare) farms also hold a significant place in Nicaragua’s coffee landscape, as well. Many of these farms have also prioritized social and environmental issues and are working on quality improvements at both cultivation and post-harvest levels.
Farmers, for the most part, will process coffee on their own farms, and the majority of the time coffee is dried on large drying patios under sun.