Roast level: medium
Characteristics: mandarin orange, brown sugar, molasses
Varietals: caturra, catuai, typica, catimor
Processing: washed
Producer: Various small holders
Importer: Genuine Origin
Size: 12 oz
Nicaragua, Finca Los Legos
Introduced to the country in the 1850s, coffee soon became Nicaragua’s primary export. However, decades of war, political unrest, embargoes, and hurricanes in the mid-to late-1900s dramatically weakened the country’s agricultural infrastructure, and Nicaraguan coffee production has fought to gain more stability in the subsequent years.
Today, coffee production generates over $500 million a year in exports, with an average of 2 million bags exported annually. There are more than 40,000 coffee producers in Nicaragua, 97% of which are smallholder farmers, and the coffee value chain employs over 330,000 people.
A Strictly High Grown (SHG) coffee is grown at an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level or higher. When coffee cherries grow at high altitudes, they tend to mature more slowly. This allows the fruit to take in more nutrients, resulting in denser, sweeter green coffee beans that are considered higher quality. Due to the longer maturation, harvesting, and production of SHG coffees generally occurs later in the season.