Our videocast: In My Mug
Episodes
Saturday Jun 08, 2019
Saturday Jun 08, 2019
Owned by Juan José Montoya, Finca La Isla (or The Island Farm) is thus called because the farm is isolated from the town by a river. Around 50% of Finca La Isla is made up of natural forests, which generates great biodiversity on the farm and there are also permanent water streams running through the land. Juan José considers that what makes Finca La Isla so special is its closeness to the nature, its perfect climate, its altitude, and the passion with which he produces coffee in the company of his brother.
Juan José started producing commodity coffee here back in 2012 but as the price of commodity coffee started to drop below the cost of production, he started to look into other options. Luckily, Juan José had some super tasty and high-quality coffees on his farm and with his 2018-2019 harvest he decided to sell his coffee in the specialty market for the first time.
And here we are! I was recently over in Nicaragua cupping new lots and thought I was pretty much sorted for coffees from the area until this one fell into my lap and I decided we should definitely throw it into the mix!
In the cup this is cacao nibs with a delicious digestive biscuit kind of sweetness. Mixed in is a delicate fruity edge - a hint of lychee. The aftertaste is clean and refreshing, reminding me of pear drops.
- Country: Nicaragua
- Municipality: San Ramón
- Region: Matagalpa
- Farm name: La Isla
- Farmer: Juan José Montoya
- Farm size: 714 hectares
- Coffee growing area: 294 hectares
- Altitude: 900-1,200 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: Caturra, Catuai, Catimor and Paraneima
- Process: Fully Washed
CUPPING NOTES
Cacao nibs, digestive biscuit, lychee
Clean cup: (1–8): 6
Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5
Acidity: (1–8): 6
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
Flavour: (1–8): 6.5
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5
Balance: (1–8): 6.5
Overall: (1–8): 6
Correction: (+36): +36
Total: (max. 100): 86
Roasting Information
Medium to Medium Dark - this one's pretty quiet in crack, so steady through first and develop it a bit before second gets going.