Lemon choux from Nicaragua

Product detailed description

Coffee origin

Agua Sarca, a beautiful coffee plantation nestled in the heart of Nueva Segovia, Ocotal - Las Manos, Dipilto. Owned by Isacio Javier Albir Vílchez, the farm is a testament to heritage and love for coffee, passed down through his family for more than 30 years.

At an altitude range of 1200 – 1400 metres above sea level, the farm spans 76 hectares and is home to several coffee varieties including Caturra, Catuaí Amarillo, Catuaí Rojo, Maracaturra, Ovata, Parainema, Marcelleza, and Geisha. The coffee trees thrive in the franco sandy soil, with their roots drawing rich nutrients resulting in beans full of flavour. With an average yield of 18 quintals of parchment per hectare, Agua Sarca is a significant contributor to the local coffee economy.

The farm employs 25 permanent workers, with the team expanding to 85 during the harvest season, which typically runs from November to March. They follow eco-friendly practices in cultivating the coffee. The trees are pruned regularly for better yield, fertilised with low-intensity pesticides and a combination of organic and mineral fertilisers. The team is trained to pick only the ripest coffee cherries, ensuring that the quality is maintained throughout the process.

This specific lot covers 14 hectares and sits at an altitude of 1350 metres, producing the Maracaturra variety.

Coffee processing

Once the cherries are harvested, they are floated, depulped, and left to ferment for 18 to 24 hours before being cleaned with fresh water. The coffee is then dried on African beds within microtunnels to ensure it doesn't contact the ground. Once dry, it is stored in new plastic bags and macen sacks within a specialised area in the warehouse.

When it's ready for export, the coffee is lifted from the patios at a humidity of 11 to 11.5%, stored, and rested for a month. It's then milled, and packed in Ecotact bags and jute sacks with the corresponding ICO.

Few words about the farm

The challenges faced by the farm are those shared by many coffee producers worldwide. Climate change has led to higher production costs and coupled with scarce resources and lack of financing, it makes coffee production a complex task. However, the resilience of Agua Sarca and its team has kept them going. Future plans include improving the wet milling system to optimize operations and keep delivering their high-quality coffee.

The coffee at Agua Sarca is paid for based on quality, meaning that the higher the quality of the beans, the more the farmer earns. This incentivises them to keep improving and to focus on producing the best coffee possible.

No other crops are grown at Agua Sarca. It's pure dedication to coffee that makes Agua Sarca special, a heritage passed down through generations and carefully brewed in each cup.

We roast 3 times a week, so your coffee always arrives freshly roasted. We have been roasting our own coffee since 2019 in Silůvky in southern Moravia.