| Location/Origin |
Nicaragua |
| Altitude |
1200m |
| Variety |
Maragogype
|
| Preparation |
Washed |
| Harvest |
June-December |
| Owner / Farm |
Finca Las Nubes
|
| SCA Cup score and notes |
85 Chocolate and apple with a treacle finish. |
Finca Las Nubes is located high in the mountainous region of Esquipulas on Guatemala’s eastern border – almost edging on Honduras. The area is populated with pine and cypress trees and is a natural haven for many species of wild birds. The farm is remote – some 236kms from Guatemala City and around a 10-hour drive round-trip.
‘Las Nubes’ means ‘The Clouds’, and is so-called because its location high in the mountains means that it is often draped in clouds. When owner Don Fabio Solís gave up his job as a lorry driver and bought the finca in the 1980s, there were no roads up to his land, no house and no coffee trees. It took Don Fabio Solís & his wife, Doña Sonia four hours to walk up to the farm and three hours back. Gradually, they built up the finca, first selling semi-processed coffee on the local market. Their breakthrough came in 2001 when, out of nowhere, Las Nubes won Guatemala’s first Cup of Excellence competition, with a massive score of 96 out of 100. It was unheard of, as Esquipulas is not widely known for its coffees.
The Farm has developed jobs for the whole community and have donated clean water to the surrounding areas, its neighbours are generally small producers who also collaborate with them.
Maragogype is a mutant variety from the Bourbon coffee plant, which has huge leaves, large cherries and huge long shaped beans with a double cut centre. It is also known as the “Elephant Bean” due to its large size. The tree produces fewer cherries and it is said that the flavour is more concentrated.
“Our plan for the future is to continue renewing and improving our plantations, where we are continuing to focus in the quality and productivity. Our goal is to continue keeping our customers happy and satisfied with the quality of the coffee.”
