Nicaragua Las Nubes Maracaturra CM Natural (Green)

Description

Region: La Tablazon, Dipilto

Elevation: 1250-1400 masl.

Arabica Varietal: Maracaturra

Process: Carbonic Maceration Natural

Farm: Las Nubes

Producer: Roberto Castellanos

In the cup: Blueberry Jam, Dark Chocolate, Prune, Molasses, Lavender, Rose, Violet, Plum, Peach and Cherry

Processing Details
o Cherries picked ripe and red at 20-22º Brix
o Hand sorting of anything under- or over-ripe
o Fermentation in sealed tanks flushed with CO2 at ambient temperature brings berry and dark fruit intensity
o Drying on raised beds thin layers under full sun for 25 days enhances floral characteristics
o Moisture content reduced to 10-12%
o Coffees stored in dried cherry pods until milling for export

Around 70 years ago, Antonio Castellanos built a house of mudbrick for himself and his wife Eusebia, and planted coffee across their 5 hectares. This land was called Las Nubes, because it literally sat within ‘the clouds’ in the mountains of Dipilto. Things have certainly changed throughout the Castellanos’ generations, for example the family no longer require the donkey to transport their harvests 20km to be sold. Eventually, Antonio handed the farm over to his son, Reginaldo and his wife, who expanded the farm land to 22 hectares, and placed in 2nd at the 1996 Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence.

The house that Antonio built still stands at Las Nubes today, and houses the family of Sebstian, who have been living and working on the farm with the Castellanos for the last 20 years. Roberto Castellanos, the third generation coffee producer at Las Nubes, took over in 2019, and he too is making some changes. A coffee agronomist for over 14 years, Roberto has used his knowledge to experiment with varietals at the farm, such as planting seedlings directly into the earth without the use of plastic bags, and utilising bioferments and the growing fruit trees to create natural resources at the farm, building upon their self-sufficiency. Roberto is searching for an equilibrium between quality coffee and minimal environmental impacts, and it is our pleasure to showcase the results of this work. Most of the farm is planted with the pacas variety, but has small lots of caturra, catuai, catimore and maracaturra, all alongside the bananas, oranges, mandarins and lemons.

(Info courtesy of Project Origin)