New coffees, new relationship

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As we enter the 4th quarter of 2017, we are thrilled to roll out 2 new coffees from Nicaragua through a new relationship with the Peralta family. We got to know Peralta Coffees through a roaster friend, who has been buying from them for a few years. The Peralta Family coffee growing history goes back to the beginning of the 20th century; but it was until 2008 that they started focusing on developing new ways to market their coffees to international specialty coffee markets. Peralta currently processes and exports all of their production to specialty markets around the world and also provide financing, milling, quality control, export and consulting services to other small and medium farms and cooperatives from different regions of Nicaragua. Currently they have 7 farms located on the Dipilto and Jalapa mountain range.

We have 2 new coffees from the Peralta family. First is a washed Java varietal from Finca El Bosque ("the forest" in Spanish). It is a farm located in the municipal of San Fernando in the Nueva Segovia region, owned by Julio Peralta since 1991. The farm lies on the mountainous slopes in the Nueva Segovia region on the border of Honduras, providing spectacular views of the surrounding forests and mountains. The environment is incredibly wild and coffee grows densely amongst shade trees of banana and inga. El Bosque produces coffee at altitudes of between 1250 to 1560 meters above sea level and has an annual rainfall of approximately 1800 millimeters. These factors, along with Julio’s inherited passion and dedication for growing exceptional coffee, combine to produce lively, bright and complex flavour nuances in the cup. Javier Antonia Mayorquin is the manager of Finca El Bosque and of the 140 hectares that make up El Bosque, only 30 of them are allocated for coffee production. The rest of the land has been set aside for the growth of different varieties of pine and oak, and it is this factor along with a clear commitment to sustainable environmental practice that has resulted in Rainforest Alliance certification for El Bosque. All power on the farm is provided by solar panels and a rainwater harvesting tank which produces hydroelectricity.

Ripe cherries are handpicked and sorted between December and March. There is a wet mill on the farm. The selected cherries are then pulped in a Penagos eco-pulper, the water is recycled and reused in this process before entering oxidation ponds to remove by-products. For this Java lot, the washed beans were taken to the nearby mill of San Ignacio where they were dried on raised beds for 11 days. The coffees are regularly turned by rake to ensure good, even drying.

We love how clean and sweet the Java is tasting. When hot, the cup highlights cantaloupe-like fruit tones, but as it cools, mandarin oranges comes through along with its candy floss/marshmallow-like sweetness. This coffee exhibits subtle citric acidity and floral undertones, great for pour-overs.

Farm: Finca El Bosque
Producer: Julio Peralta
Farm Manager: Javier Antonia Mayorquin
Region: Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua
Dry mill: San Ignacio
Varietal: Java
Processing: Washed

The second coffee we purchased from the Peralta family is from Finca Santa Maria de Lourdes. Situated in the same region as Finca El Bosque,  the 50 hectares of natural mountainous forest has been under the ownership of Octavio Peralta since 1970, though for many years the area was used as war land during the Sandinista uprising and was heavily mined. The UN cleared the area of mines in the late 1980’s and Octavio began to restore exceptional coffee production to this relatively wild area in 1994. Octavio has been dedicated to this cause as well as preserving the natural habitat which is recognized as a main factor in the production of his fantastic coffee. Of the 80 hectares of available arable land, 40 have been set aside for the sole purpose of maintaining and improving the natural habitat. The climate at Santa Maria de Lourdes is much more humid which means the coffee trees are more sparsely planted to ensure everything is properly aerated. The farm has achieved Rainforest Alliance Certification in recognition of this decision and contributes towards the on-going conservation of the surrounding area. There is also a well equipped kitchen which caters for the 60 permanent workers and 150 pickers during the harvest. The general manager is Gladys Gutierrez who oversees the running and upkeep of the farm and is instrumental in the production of high quality coffee.

The lot we chose from Finca Santa Maria de Lourdes is a yellow honey processed Catuai. The degree of "honey" depends on the amount of mucilage left on the parchment after being passed through a mechanical demucilaginator, so a white/yellow honey would have the least amount of mucilage left on the parchment, compared to red or black honey. Honey-processed coffees generally take longer to dry. For this lot, it was dried over 16 days on raised beds.

When we cupped this coffee earlier this year, we felt it would work great for espresso. Its soft and gentle acidity and medium body is complemented beautifully by the rounded mouthfeel from the cup. Indeed, this coffee turned out to be really enjoyable. There is a tropical fruit tone at the front, like starfruits, and the back is coated with hazelnuts and milk chocolate. Very balanced and pleasant for those looking for a comforting espresso.

Farm: Finca Santa Maria de Lourdes
Region: Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua
Producer: Octavio Peralta
Farm Manager: Gladys Gutierrez
Dry mill: San Ignacio
Varietal: Catuai
Processing: Yellow Honey

Both coffees are available in store and online now. Kick off October with some fresh coffees from Nicaragua!

Nicaragua El Suspiro

New fresh crop!!! El Suspiro is one of the few coffees sourced from our trip to El Salvador and Nicaragua back in February this year. This coffee really got our attention on the cupping table at Beneficio Don Esteban, the dry mill where all coffees of the Mierisch family are brought together from their eight farms in Nicaragua.

Finca El Suspiro is one of the farms owned by the Mierisch family. The Mierisch family has roots in coffee going back to 1908. The last 15 years have lead to a dramatic increase in unique microlots. With investment in new cultivars, techniques, processing, and employee training, the family has proven that hard work and dedication get results. They have been COE winners several times and have also attained a solid reputation as socially and environmentally responsible farmers. El Suspiro is the smallest farm amongst those owned by the Mierisch family. This farm is located in Matagalpa, a well-known area for coffee production in Nicaragua. Maria Ligia Mierisch, one of the 4 Mierisch siblings, started getting more actively involved in the management of this farm in recent years.

The coffee varietals grown in this farm include Caturra Estrella, Red Catuai, Red Bourbon, Orange Bourbon and Maracatu. The microlot which we selected is of Red Bourbon varietal and pulped natural processed. This is truly a delicious fruity cup when hot and transforms to a more caramel and chocolaty cup as it cools. The floral aromas, cranberry acidity, citrus flavours and almond notes really shines through as a drip coffee. This is a well-balanced coffee that would work well as a morning coffee or for an afternoon caffeine break.

• Farm: El Suspiro
• Producer: Mierisch family
• Region: Matagalpa, Nicaragua
• Varietal: Red Bourbon
• Altitude: 1350 - 1450m asl
• Processing: Pulped natural and sun-dried

 We are currently serving this coffee on the Kalita wave dripper, and the retail bags are both available in-store as well as our online shop.

Nicaragua Finca San Jose

Since the popular Brazilian Sitio Canaa came to an end, a replacement from our current Central American harvest for our next single origin espresso was always on the cards. Over the past 3 weeks, we have been featuring something which we codenamed as “Project X”. Through our cuppings and feedback from customers alike, we have made tweaks to the roast profile and are now ready to reveal the “secret identity” of this bean showcased in our 2nd hopper.

Situated in the Jinotega region of Nicaragua, this small farm sits perched on a cliff high above the beautiful Lago Apanas, north of Jinotega. Finca San Jose was purchased by the Mierisch family in 2003. The Mierisch family also owns – Finca Los Placeres and Finca La Escondida. Both of these farms have already made their appearances in our shop over the past 2 months.

Finca San Jose is divided into sections to facilitate tracking, as coffee is harvested everyday during the harvest season, which runs from January to February. Every sack of cherries harvested notes down the area within the farm and the workers’ names. At Finca San Jose, all the cherries are handpicked. The workers are rewarded by picking only the ripest cherries. The Mierisch family has put in a lot of effort to give back to the communities who work and live the various farms. Some of the initiatives include providing access to childcare for working mothers in the farms, educational programs for children, fully stocked and functional clinics at the farm, nutritional programs and a general store stocked with low cost sundries for the communities.  All these resulted in total commitment from the working staff at the farms to produce great coffees. 

As an espresso, Finca San Jose exhibits deep red fruit-like lively acidity (reminiscent of plums, raisins), hints of tropical fruits, pleasant sweetness, lovely syrupy mouthfeel ending with a dry finish. With milk, expect plenty of chocolate, resulting in a smooth and comforting cup right down to the last drop. We are really excited to be able to work with the wonderful folks who are part of the Mierisch family and bring this wonderful bean to share with you at Nylon. Do drop by and try it when we have it in our hopper, or grab a bag of our retail rack & have fun making some coffees with it.

• Producer: Mierisch Family
• Region: Jinotega, Nicaragua
• Varietal: Catuai
• Altitude: 1275-1375m asl
• Processing: Washed and sun-dried