How much coffee does Nicaragua export? Which are the preferred varieties and what does a typical cup of Nicaraguan coffee taste like? What role does coffee play in society and the economy, and what does its future look like? These are exciting questions with interesting, thought-provoking answers. And then there's the DO Dipilto. A novelty in the Latin American country, possibly even a groundbreaking one. Let's delve together into the exciting coffee world of Nicaragua.
Table of Contents
- Coffee in Nicaragua today
- Taste, Volume, Quality
- Challenges, Facts & Figures
- Coffee in Nicaragua yesterday
Coffee, an important economic sector?
The Central American country, with its capital Managua, borders Costa Rica to the south and Honduras to the north. It is characterized by a very diverse geography, from the Pacific and Caribbean seas, many different microclimates, to a chain of active volcanoes.
The cultivation of coffee is one of the most important agricultural economic sectors and is a source of income and jobs for many people. In Nicaragua, more than 330,000 people are employed in coffee, accounting for 15% of the labor market and 54% of the agricultural sector. Of these, 44,000 are coffee producers, 71% of whom own farms with an average size of 1-14 hectares.
The remoteness of many small farms, as well as the struggle with coffee rust, the natural disaster of Hurricane Mitch, and the civil war and the break-up of large farms in the 1980s, are factors why the potential as a major coffee nation is only slowly being exploited. And even in the current era, politics repeatedly presents coffee farmers with new challenges, directly or indirectly. Political and economic unrest and uncertainties mean that the Latin American country is struggling with enormous out-migration. This results, among other things, in many farmers lacking important labor for the harvest season. Further articles on this topic can be found, for example, here.
Many small farmers practice near-natural coffee cultivation, partly out of conviction, and partly because money for pesticides is often scarce. The proportion of organic certified coffees is approximately 10%.
Where does coffee grow in Nicaragua?
Nicaragua has a variety of soils that differ by region. The soils in the mountain regions are generally of volcanic origin and rich in organic matter. The very fertile soil is excellent for coffee cultivation. In the lowland regions, the soil is usually sandier and better suited for crops such as tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton - or even Robusta.
Robusta - legally regulated cultivation
What can be grown where is legally regulated. While some farms in the Autonomous Region of the South Caribbean Coast have been officially allowed to cultivate Robusta since 2006, this was prohibited in other regions until recently. Economically, however, this cultivation had no relevance. In 2016, the Association of Coffee Exporters (Excan) achieved a great success. The new legal reform has since allowed the cultivation of Robusta in seven departments in the Pacific Region as well as in the two autonomous regions of the Atlantic coast. The resolution states that Robusta must not be grown higher than 400 meters above sea level and with a minimum distance of 30 km to the nearest Arabica planting. Only one year later, Robusta was even included in the Coffee Law. The reasons for this are again economic, because besides the fact that Canephora yields more per plant, it also grows in low areas and is resistant to many diseases, such as the feared coffee rust.
The economically relevant cultivation regions for Arabica are Nueva Segovia, Matagalpa, Estelí, and Jinotega. Nicaragua's potential to further increase the quantity and quality of coffee cultivation is only slowly being realized for various reasons. However, many future-oriented, revolutionary, and trend-setting coffee farmers are ensuring that Nicaragua is increasingly gaining a firm place on the specialty coffee map.
https://www.cafeimports.com/europe/nicaragua
What is the classification system?
Arabica green coffee is classified in Nicaragua according to altitude. It is assumed that the higher the coffee is grown, the better its flavor profile. The focus is primarily on acidity, which can develop better in higher farms. There is no specific green coffee classification for Robusta.
· SHG (strictly high grown) for cultivation above 1200 meters altitude
· HG (high grown) for cultivation between 900-1200 meters altitude
· CS for cultivation between 500-900 meters altitude
This type of classification plays a greater role in the evaluation of conventionally traded coffees. In the specialty coffee sector, Nicaragua adheres to the grading system of the CQI and the Specialty Coffee Association.
Nicaragua has also had a long tradition as a participating country in the Cup of Excellence competition.
What does coffee from Nicaragua taste like?
The dominant Arabica varieties in Nicaragua is Caturra, accounting for 72% of the total Arabica cultivation area. Other common varieties are Bourbon, Catuai, Catimor, Paca, Maracaturra, Maragogype, Pacamara, which are traditionally processed by washing. Especially in Nueva Segovia, where our Santa Rita farm is located, there are some adventurous producers who experiment with other varieties and post-harvest processes. The characteristic flavor profiles of these washed processed varieties include notes of milk chocolate, caramel, honey, and nut with medium acidity and a medium body.
With improved reading, Robusta has gained a lot of potential. Some Fine Robustas offer notes of chocolate, fruits, and spices, as well as clean flavor notes with pleasant acidity and a round body. Coffee farmers are also testing various post-harvest processes for Robusta, such as honey.
Influential Coffee Farms in Nicaragua: A Selection
Finca Santa Rita - Our Own Coffee Farm
Since 2017, we, Kaffeemacher GmbH, have been the owners of the small coffee farm Santa Rita in Tablazon, Dipilto, about 30 km from Ocotal in the province of Nueva Segovia.
We became co-owners of Santa Rita at the invitation of our friend and partner, Roberto Castellanos. The initial impetus was the exchange, financial stabilization, and further development of a small model farm.
Meanwhile, Roberto has taken over the management of the family farm and has asked us to take over Santa Rita completely and continue to run it. We still source coffee from Roberto, and he is our neighbor in Dipilto Viejo with "Las Nubes."
Our goal is to work as ecologically as possible and to create a healthy cycle on the farm, with an intact flora and fauna system. A healthy cycle naturally includes the employees, for whom we create secure jobs, adequate wages, good sanitary conditions, access to education, and insurance.
We see Santa Rita as both a platform and a laboratory. As a platform, Santa Rita serves to invite other producers to exchange ideas with scientists and pass on what they have learned. As a laboratory farm, we experiment with different varieties and post-harvest processes to generate a stable harvest quantity on the one hand, and on the other hand, to work out what flavors we can create on a small farm with targeted fermentations. You can find the coffees in our shop, seasonally and freshly harvested.
Finca El Àrbol - Model Farm of Our Partners
Claudia Lovo and Saša Šestić, along with other supporters, bought Finca El Àrbol. The Australian is the founder of Ona Coffee and Project Origin, and an Australian Barista Champion as well as a World Barista Champion. Since 2019, Claudia's partner, Tim Willem, has been dedicated to constantly optimizing quality, with a focus on the post-harvest process. The farm is run on biological-regenerative principles and is home to 14 people who nurture and care for the created mini-ecosystem. Coffee, nature, and people should be able to live in harmony - Claudia and Tim convey this vision to their employees and visitors alike. The two are our local partners, involved as representatives and trustees, and manage Santa Rita in coordination with us.
Claudia and Tim are also the ones who conduct the annual Coffee Farm Training at the partner farm El Árbol.
Bridazul - Born From Challenges
Coffee drying in Bridazul
"We are not a drymill nor an export company. We are the link between people with the same mindset."
Tim Willem, Finca El Àrbol and Bridazul
In the 2018/2019 harvest season, Claudia and Tim began experimentally drying coffee on their own farm. In the same year, the country suffered great political instability with the catastrophic result for coffee farmers of a credit freeze by the banks. Several producers asked Claudia and Tim for help, hoping to get a higher price for their green coffee through their good network - otherwise, the farmers might have lost their farm. Tim and Claudia quickly called several friends and asked if they would be interested in buying coffee from Nicaragua. As a result, they were able to sell almost an entire container. Today, they lease a dry mill and sell between five and six containers of green coffee from approximately 45 producers. With Bridazul, they have also created a place where nature, people, and animals are treated with respect.
Mierisch Family
"The Mierisch Family were the first to make things better and put Nicaragua on the specialty radar."
Tim Willem, Finca El Àrbol and Bridazul
The undisputed and highly respected star producer is the Mierisch family. The German immigrant Bruno Mierisch Boettiger planted the first coffee plant on his farm "Las Lajas" in 1908, laying the foundation for the most successful and multi-award-winning Fincas Mierisch, which now includes 14 farms, three of them in Rio Bonito, Honduras. This makes them one of the largest producers in the country, as a stately 97% of the total 45 thousand producers own less than 14 hectares or 20 manzanas of coffee cultivation area.
Valladárez Family
The story of Luis Emilio Valladárez Zelaya begins in the 1960s in Dipilto, Nueva Segovia, when he inherited a small plot of land from his grandmother and cultivated coffee there. The initial circumstances were adverse; the valuable cargo had to be transported by horse to the nearest mill or even to the next village. He planted varieties such as Maracaturra, Maragogype, Java, Villa Sarchí, and Caturra and named his small farm "Buones Aires" - an award-winning finca that was chosen as the winner of the Cup of Excellence in 2015. His Maracaturras are considered by many to be the best in the country. Meanwhile, the Valladárez Family owns several farms, including the also award-winning Finca Miraflor, El Suyatal, Monte Libano, and La Laguna.
El Avion
Mario José González Rodríguez's farm is located 1400-1800 meters above sea level and is the Cup of Excellence winner of 2022. With 90.74 points, the natural processed Red Catuai captivated the jury with notes of stone fruit, plum, vanilla, a clear acidity, and a very present sweetness. The 100-manzana farm El Avion has been in the winner's hands since 2012. He cultivates coffee on only 20 manzanas, specifically the Red Catuai and Catimor varieties.
The Chianti of Coffee: The DO Dipilto Designation of Origin
With the Denominacion de Origen, we want to protect the valuable things that our coffee gives us.
Don «Milo» Emilio Gutierrez, President of the Asociacion de Cafetaleros de Nueva Segovia
Don «Milo» Emilio Gutierrez on his Finca Los Cypresses de Loma Fria, Nicaragua
Bursting with pride, Don «Milo» Emilio Gutierrez, owner of Finca Los Cypresses de Loma Fria and president of the Asociacion de Cafetaleros de Nueva Segovia, and above all a passionate agronomist, speaks about the introduction of the DO Dipilto. This designation of origin, “Denominacion de Origen de Café Dipilto,” is the first of its kind in Nicaragua. It covers the areas of Dipilto, Macuelizo, and Mozonte in northern Nicaragua. «Ever since the introduction of Cup of Excellence in 2002, coffees from the Dipilto and Mozonte region have consistently ranked at the top,» Don Milo knows. «So we decided to give something back to our farmers and our region by protecting the valuable things that our coffee gives us.»
DO Dipilto area, Nicaragua
A DO protects a product from a specific place in terms of its quality, origin, and ingredients. Comparable designations of origin in coffee include quality seals like Café Marcala in Honduras, Genuino Antigua in Guatemala, and Café de Tarrazu in Costa Rica.
For the approval of DO Dipilto, 17 specifications had to be drawn up, including technical guidelines for the post-harvest process, drying, and quality control. After four years of paperwork, in 2022, the Cafetos de Segovia farm achieved the milestone of selling the first certified DO Dipilto lot to England.
Coffee Exports from Nicaragua
A coffee year is handled similarly to a school year and runs from October to September in Nicaragua. The harvest year usually includes two years, for example, 2021/2022.
The most important port for exports is Corinto. In the 2021/2022 coffee year, over 4.5 million bags were exported, or in other words, almost 151 million kg of green coffee. Nearly 9% of this was organic certified. The USA and Europe are the main buyers, accounting for 50% combined.
What are the biggest challenges?
In recent years, the temperature here in Dipilto has risen by about 10 degrees around Easter. Five years ago, we had 25°C; today we are at 36°C or even 37°C.
Adan Mejía, Operations Manager Finca el Árbol and Finca Santa Rita, Nicaragua
The biggest problem, the seemingly insurmountable difficulty, is probably also in Nicaragua the climate. Although the country is struggling with other evils, such as the enormous emigration of Nicaraguans to the USA, which has an almost unquantifiable impact on harvest helpers. Many farms have far too few workers, which has a fatal impact on their total harvest and sometimes means a loss of up to 40%. Almost 74% of the farms, according to a study by FUNIDES in 2016/2017, are affected by diseases, pests, and fungi that can destroy entire plots.
Colonialism and Nicaragua
Although the first coffee plants were planted in Nicaragua at the end of the 18th century, the stimulant newly discovered by Europeans only really took hold in the mid-19th century, when worldwide demand significantly increased. The first large coffee farm was established in Managua, from where the business spread to other regions. German and Italian immigrants were encouraged by the Nicaraguan government to buy land for coffee cultivation. And before long, the coffee business was firmly in the hands of white landowners, who made their workers work for minimal wages and under the most adverse conditions.
Since 1987, Nicaragua has had 15 so-called "Departamentos" (departments), which are like cantons or federal states, as well as 2 independent regions: the Autonomous Region of the South Caribbean Coast and the Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean Coast. After a 20-year conflict, in which one party sought more control over the Miskito indigenous people and the latter demanded greater autonomy, a peace agreement was finally signed in 1987, paving the way for the creation of the two autonomous regions. This was intended to protect the rights and cultural identity of the indigenous population and the descendants of African slaves. The regions operate with their own government and laws, which are designed to reflect the cultural and linguistic ethnic groups. Despite a certain degree of independence, both regions are subject to the country's sovereignty; the government of Nicaragua has the final say.
Facts & Figures
