About This Coffee
Since the 1940s, the Ortez family has been dedicated to coffee farming. Through ups and downs, they have managed to expand their coffee plantations over the years.
In 1972, with the support of technical assistance, they decided to replace their old Arabica trees with Caturra varieties. In 1996, they began the construction of the El Milagro wet mill, with the goal of providing services to local producers and processing coffee from the family’s farms.
In 2012, the decision was made to further expand coffee-growing areas, beginning new plantings on Mogotón Hill (the highest point in Nicaragua). The goal was to produce high-quality coffee by fully leveraging the terrain’s unique characteristics. In 2020, they achieved 11th place in the Cup of Excellence competition.
For the 2020/2021 harvest cycle, they launched a rebranding and improvement initiative for the mill. With the support of the national company ProExports S.A., a quality control laboratory was installed to provide specialized services. A strategic alliance was also established to access international markets and obtain certifications for both the production units and the dry mill, continuing to make coffee a sustainable livelihood for the family.
Cultivation
Coffee at the Ortez family farms is cultivated with a strong focus on quality and sustainability. Grown at high altitudes—including Mogotón, Nicaragua’s highest peak—the coffee benefits from ideal climate and soil conditions. The farms primarily cultivate Caturra and other Arabica varieties, using careful agricultural practices and selective harvesting to ensure only ripe cherries are picked.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
At the Ortez Family group of farms, the coffee harvest takes place from September to March. During this time, ripe cherries are picked and taken to the wet mill, where they are depulped and then sent to the dry mill in parchment form to be hulled.
Once the coffee is hulled, it undergoes final preparation with the highest quality standards to ensure it is ready for export from January to July.
Sustainable Harvest
Sustainable Harvest® is a specialty coffee trader focusing primarily on bringing coffees to market that are sourced from smallholder farmer cooperatives in the supply chain such as indigenous communities, women groups and the next generation of coffee farmers.
Their sourcing model is built on transparency, traceability and direct relationships between quality-minded coffee roasters and best-in-class coffee producers. Sustainable Harvest® has an on-site presence at origin with staff in Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Peru. Each office coordinates their supply including quality management, supplier relationships, source development, logistics, training and capacity building.
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.