Coffee from the producers
The Harvest Season
Our organic coffee Café de Nicaragua is harvested and processed by the Cooperative Nueva Esperanza (New Hope) in Condega, Esteli region of Northern Nicaragua. This is probably one of the best coffee producing regions in the planet and the coffee produced by the cooperative is classified as 'Strictly High Grown' (SHG). The classification SHG means that the coffee grows at an altitude of between 1000 and 1200 mts above sea level in the Esteli region.
Coffee growing and harvesting is labour intensive and the most of it is done by human hands. Although a number of farmers are based on a permanent basis in the coffee farms, during the harvest season there is always need of extra workers.
Between December and February of every year the red and sweet coffee cherries are carefully collected by hand. At the peak of the coffee harvest season there are approximately 200000 extra coffee workers that are employed solely with the purpose of picking the red cherries from the coffee trees. These temporary farmers must be very skill and performance is also monitored because if the coffee picking is not properly done this might affect the future harvest. The work also is difficult and tedious because coffee plants grow in harmony with the mountainous landscape and this means that the terrain is not always even.
When the berries are processed and become green coffee beans in the Beneficio, only those beans that meet certain standards are the ones that are processed for export and the speciality markets.
What kind of coffee?
Arabica of exceptional size and taste - According to a recent scientific study carried out by CIRAD in order to mapping out the coffee quality in Nicaragua demonstrated the difference between the coffee of the Pacific low land regions and the Central Highland regions. While the caffeine content did not vary with altitude, the bean size and characteristics and taste changed gradually. For example the bean of the Pacific regions was bitter than that of the Highlands. The coffee harvested in the Central Highlands was characterised by bigger size beans, higher acidity and low levels of bitterness.
Nicaragua and Organic coffee
Organic coffee is always monitored by an external organisation or a third party certification agency. The main aspect is that the coffee has been harvested and previously grown without the use of artificial pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers for a period of three years. In the case of the Nicaraguan small coffee farms the conversion from conventional agriculture into certified organic methods did not prove to be a major obstacle. Since generations the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides was almost unknown and to be more accurate the use of such chemical agents was not feasible for the farmers because of the high costs. Nicaraguan coffee farmers did not have the means to import those chemical agents and consequently the farmers used their best skills and organic pesticides and fertilizers in order to grow or maintain the plantation in the best possible way.
Our coffee is also certified by BIOLATINA, a certification body that guarantees that the entire process is truly organic and also acts as a guarantor for alternative markets and conscious consumers in Europe and other places across the globe. The organic certification is also recognised by the EU.
Shade Grown Coffee
Shade coffee grows under the canopy of the High Altitude Cloud Forest. The canopy of the forest acts as a protection shield against the sun and under its shade there are various eco-systems that coexist in harmony and are part of the ancient landscape of the Nicaraguan Highlands. Different species of native and migratory birds also depend of the different resources provided by the forest and one can find other type of small mammals such as the wild cat and jaguars but in small quantities.
Single Origin Direct from the Fincas run by the Cooperative Nueva Esperanza in the Esteli Region
The Cooperative Nueva Esperanza was formed after the 1979 Sandinista revolution.