About This Coffee
Carlos Lopez purchased Finca La Esperanza in 1996. La Virgen is a plot on Finca La Esperanza. He named the farm La Esperanza after the Spanish word for “hope”. The farm has special significance in Nicaragua because it is the source of the Mozonte River.
Finca La Esperanza sits at 1,650 meters above sea level, creating the ideal microclimate for cultivation sweet, dense cherry.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Ripe, red cherry is selectively handpicked and processed on the farm. At the on-site wet mill, laborers visually hand sort cherry to remove any damaged or unripe cherry before floating it to remove underripes. Cherry is pulped and fermented in a fermentation tank for 24 hours. Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and transported to Cafetos de Segovia’s dry mill. Parchment is dried on raised beds and is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes 10 to 12 days for parchment to dry.
Nueva Segovia
Coffees from Nueva Segovia stand out for their flavor, balance and intense sweetness. Farms are, on average, approximately 2.5 hectares and sit at 1,000 to 1,750 meters above sea level. Farmers cultivate mainly Catimor, Caturra, Catuai, Paca and Maragogype in deep, sandy loam soils with good drainage. The harvest typically runs from October to January.
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.