Hits: 13
During the Taiwan International Coffee Show 2019, I met four Nicaraguan coffee exporters. After doing a cupping with them I decided to write an article about my findings on their Nicaraguan coffee samples.
In part 1 I will discuss the AFN Santa Teresa Bourbon, AFN Villa Guadalupe Yellow Catuai, Sajonia La Porra Maracaturra and the El Palacio Estate Java.
AFN – Arabigos Finos De Nicaragua: Santa Teresa
AFN has provided me with two samples. The first is a Bourbon from Santa Teresa, a farm that is situated at 1350 meters above sea level with a lot of shade provided by fruit tree’s. The producer, Xenia Del Carmen Calix has several varieties on the farm, and this particular one is the Bourbon Honey Washed.
Right off the bat I can smell that there’s a lot of fruitiness to this coffee. On the nose I clearly detect raisin and plum, but a hint of vanilla and tamarind as well.
The has a clear citric acidity that reminds me of unripe pear and a lime. When drinking this coffee, there is a raspberry flavour in the background that is accompanied by plum and raisins. There is also a sensation of black peper corn underneath and on the sides of the tongue.
The aftertaste lingers for a bit, providing some hints of nuts, pepper corn and soft dry cocoa as well.
AFN: Vila Guadalupe.
The second Nicaraguan coffee sample by AFN is the Villa Guadalupe.
Villa Guadalupe is located at 1450 meters above sea level and is owned by Jorge Luis Lagos Calix, a well known Nicaraguan coffee farmer. Jorge has several varieties on his tree shaded farm, this particular variety is the Yellow Catuai. The coffee has undergone a natural process and comes from the plot called: Linda Vista, roughly translated as Beautiful View.
The Villa Guadalupe has some typical traits that you can find in the Nicaraguan coffees. When the coffee is warm, the aroma of vanilla is easily found, together with some tropical fruit and sugared tea. The sugared tea and vanilla being very close together.
The flavour, however, is more surprising. I get green apple, unripe pear, stone fruit and a soft hint of vanilla. The coffee tastes really fruity and has a light crisp body. The acidity is alkaline (like putting your tongue to a battery) and softly bright. The beautiful part of this coffee is the way the acidity and flavours complement each other. The aftertaste is great since the flavours chance into a nutty, toffee and soft milk chocolate aftertaste. Great coffee!
Sajonia Estate Coffee: La Porra.
Sajonia Estate Coffee’s General Manager Manfred Gunkel provided me with the Finca La Porra. A Maracaturra variety that has undergone a washed process. La Porra is situated at 1300 meters above sea level and the variety is a hybrid of the Caturra workhorse and the giant Maragogipe bean: Maracaturra. It’s actually the first time that I’ve tasted this bean.
The coffee has some beautiful aroma notes right from the start. There is a floral note (vanilla) that slowly gives way to allspice and molasses/pancake syrup as it cools down.
The flavours continue along that path with hints of soft spices and cloves. There is also a cedar note on the tongue, as well as some fruity notes in the background that remind me a little of red apple.
The citric acidity of this coffee is medium and leans towards green apple and grapefruit when cooling down. At the same time you can feel soft tanins in the lower part of your mouth, which is kinda nice.
El Palacio Estate: Java washed.
El Palacio Estate is located in Jinoteca, Nicaragua and is situated at 1350 meters above sea level. The variety is Java and is a washed coffee that comes from the Munoz Lot 2. The producer is Arturo J. Chaves M. It is a very old estate that was established in the year 1894.
The aromas that come forth form this coffee are floral when its hot, vanilla and dried herbs. There is also a soft candy like sweetness that appears on the nose when the coffee cools down a little. At one point I thought that the aroma might be marsipan.
The flavours of this coffee are like earl grey tea, soft vanilla, berry fruits. When the coffee cools down, these notes change into nuts and brown sugar. The aftertaste is light fruity but with a macadamia undertone. There is also a caramelized sugar note all the way at the end of the aftertaste.
The is very smooth and milk-like. The acidity is medium citric and feels great.
This concludes the end of part 1. Although these are just samples, I can clearly see the potential of the coffees. The most remarkable of the Nicaraguan coffee is the acidity. Each and every one has a great acidity that complements the flavours. In part 2, Ill be looking into coffee’s from Finca Las Promesas!