Episode 338 on Monday the 4th of May, 2015. Nicaragua Finca Limoncillo Washed Caturra.

We first bought this coffee back in 2007 in a buying group. I loved it from the first time I cupped it, and it was one I had to get. It was only after the auction closed that I found out it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who are probably the only people I know from the country, and are good friends.

The following year I visited the farm with our importers and spent the whole trip begging them to bring it in for us. Eventually they caved in and kindly did this for us. This has worked well for a couple of years. But we received a notice a couple of years ago that the importers were not going to be buying the coffee any more for reasons other than the cup quality. This led to some frantic phone calls and some thorough searching of the back of the sofa for the loose change to fund buying 12 months' worth of coffee in one go.

Many obstacles were in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky that we were able to pull all the strings together with so little time.

So the upside of all of this is that now Limoncillo is part of our direct buying program and I see it as a symbol of how Has Bean's buying has developed, and how we are developing as a roastery. This coffee has come from Cup of Excellence, to long term relationship, to a direct trade relationship.

The farm is located in Matagalpa and is a huge 171 hectares. It's an amazing location with 9 waterfalls within the farm. It's owned by the Mieresch family; as I have already said they are good friends, but they're also well respected producers in Nicaragua. They're known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee.

The fact that the family are friends helps us drill down into the details of what they do for the people who work for them, and continues to prove to me that good people grow good coffee.

The employers:

• Pay their staff 30% more than what is typical minimum wage
• Provide free housing for 60 families on their farms
• Provide free electricity and running water for their homes
• Provide free food for all workers Have free day care facilities for families to use
• Provide free health care facilities on the farms
• Employ on-site teachers who educate their staff and teach other skills such as pottery and weaving. The goal is to help staff diversify their skills. The teachers are also paid twice the wages they would receive in the cities.


I'm pleased to say that in the cup it's very similar to previous years and remains as amazing as it's ever been, one of the most consistent cups we buy. The best way I could describe this coffee is that it's like eating a toffee apple. At the front you get the sweetness of caramel with a big sticky mouthfeel, then it turns into the juiciness of green apple acidity that cleans the mouth and refreshes the palate. Then the finish: you get the two flavours mixing together to give you a balanced and complex coffee.

• Farm: El Limoncillo
• 
Farmer: Dr Erwin Mierisch
• 
Region: Matagalpa
• 
Farm Size: 171.00 hectares

• Coffee growing area: 109.00 hectares

• Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l.

• Varietal: Caturra

• Processing System: Washed and sun dried

• Coordinates N13 2.9569 W85 49.9756