NICARAGUA Jalapa

Chocolate, green tea and date. A smooth, sweet and versatile Nicaraguan coffee, with a finish marked by the sweetness of date.

From Nueva Segovia, in northern Nicaragua, comes this lot from small farms belonging to producers in the region. It is an area closely linked to specialty coffee, where high altitudes, moderate temperatures and favourable growing conditions help produce balanced, expressive coffees.

The combination of fertile soils, pine forests and the influence of the Dipilto river, a vital source for the local community, creates the perfect setting for growing coffee between 1,200 and 2,100 metres above sea level. In this environment, varieties such as Catimor, Red Catuaí and Caturra develop a particular balance between sweetness and smoothness, and in this case they build a clean, approachable cup with very marked sweetness.

The process is washed and carried out with great precision. The cherries are selected at peak ripeness and go through manual siphoning to remove dry and hollow beans and any foreign matter. They are then pulped without water and fermented for 25 to 34 hours, depending on the ambient temperature. Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is washed and hand-sorted before moving on to the dry mill, where it is sun-dried on saran mesh for around 12–16 days.

In every cup, this Nicaragua Jalapa offers a chocolate base, accompanied by the delicate, herbal freshness of green tea, and a date finish that gives it that sweet, recognisable character that lingers on the palate.

And that is precisely one of its great strengths: it is a very versatile coffee. As espresso and in a moka pot it easily brings out its more chocolatey, sweet side, while as filter it gains clarity and lets you better appreciate the green tea note and the sweetness of the date. It works especially well in drip coffee makers, where it delivers a balanced, clean and very drinkable cup.

A coffee to enjoy without fuss, but with enough nuance to discover something different with every preparation.