Since 2017, we have been co-owners of the Santa Rita coffee farm in northern Nicaragua. Together with Claudia Lovo and Tim Willems of Brida Azul, we manage the small finca in Tablazon, Dipilto, about 30 km from Ocotal in the province of Nueva Segovia.
The big question
Why do we do this as coffee makers?
As coffee makers, we impart coffee knowledge from plant to cup in our courses. We are experts in everything from purchasing green coffee to roasting and brewing, whether for restaurants or at home. We have been working in these coffee processing areas for many years. We are well-versed in agronomy and cultivation – through travel, continuing education, and literature. In the future, we will also be able to provide firsthand reports on cultivation.
At the same time, our goal from the very beginning of the Kaffeemacher initiative was to create connections across the entire coffee value chain, facilitate exchange, and also attempt to balance the value created. With our commitment, we aim to stabilize a small finca and contribute to its development.
Farm in transition
We made a conscious decision to become a partner in a coffee farm rather than buying one and running it under our own name. That's why we entered into a partnership with Roberot Castellano. At the beginning of 2021, Roberto asked us to take over his shares in the coffee farm so he could focus entirely on his parents' larger farm, Las Nubes, as an agronomist.
Roberto continues to support us as a friend and agronomist, and we also have his Las Nubes coffee in our portfolio. Our farm is managed locally by Claudia Lovo and Tim Willems, along with the Brida Azul team, who also previously played a key role in managing the processes at Santa Rita. Claudia is also our trustee in Nicaragua.
Our goals with Santa Rita have shifted. We want to make the farm even more of a beacon of quality in the future and learn how sustainable coffee cultivation can be achieved. At the same time, the farm is a hub in Tablazon, Dipilto, and serves as a bridge for us to many other producers, whom we connect with other roasters, and whose coffees we bring to the Swiss market.
Where?
What are the goals for the finca?
We want to produce outstanding coffee with the finca. At the same time, we want to serve a variety of needs and markets. The finca's potential is enormous. It already produces a wide range of qualities within a range of 80–88 points.
It is important to us that we work as ecologically as possible and create a healthy cycle on the farm, which contributes to the health of the soil and ensures a vibrant fauna and flora.
The finca's healthy cycle also includes providing secure jobs, fair wages, good sanitation, and access to education and insurance for the finca's employees and temporary community workers. This, too, is an area for experimentation and learning, in which we intend to make progress step by step.
Taking the above points into account, the farm is intended to become a platform and promote exchange between producers, roasters, and baristas. Together with scientists, for example from the ZHAW, we are conducting research to make technologies available to others. One example is a project on coffee fermentation .
Santa Rita in numbers
Our first actions on Santa included the renovation of the wet mill, a new home for the local family, and halving the tree population.
240+
Microlot Flood (2018)
250
Trees per Manzana
3.4
mz = 2.38 ha
3
Medals