Nicaragua Nicolas & Angela Jasmine lot

We stumbled on this coffee while attending a cupping of about 30 coffees from Nicaragua at a trade show.  At the time the coffees were just being prepared in Nicaragua.  We picked out this one as being particularly interesting and at a good price for the quality offered.  The coffee has just arrived in the US and now in our roasting plant.  

Nicolas & Angela are a Nicaraguan couple who produce a number of different preparations of the Red Catuai they grow on their farm.  This one presents some floral qualities of jasmine and lilac along with concord grape, Their coffee stands out on just about any cupping table and it did for us among the group tasting mentioned above. Nicolas, we are told, is the huggable grandfather you'd want to have, and Angela smiles and is welcoming as she works diligently on harvest tasks. They have six children and 12 grandchildren and explain that they farm to be able to support their kids' education.  The couple plan to pass their farm to one of their daughters, Mireya, in a multi-year transition towards retirement, but at the moment they are in full control of all aspects of the farm, its production and processing.

• Producer:  Nicolas & Angela
• Farm:  El Porvenir
• Country:  Nicaragua
• Region:  Jinotega
• Altitude:  1450 meters
• Varietal:  100% Red Catuai
• Processing:  Washed

We purchased this coffee from an exporter who works on the ground in Nicaragua.  Gold Mountain Coffee Growers is a social enterprise that, in addition to its own farm (Finca Idealista), works directly with coffee producers in Nicaragua, including Nicolas and Angela, to connect them with roasters abroad. They say they literally stand on every partner farm during picking to ensure ripeness with refractometers and ripeness bracelets. In addition, they also carry out sustainable development projects in communities, such as free computing classes for girls from coffee communities, medical assistance, microcredit, running water in schools, and educational supplies.