Nicaragua Santa Teresa de Mogotón Natural

Silvio Sanchez at Santa Teresa de Mogotón is a first-generation farmer and part owner of Paso Paso, a farmer-owned roastery in Germany. Buying coffee from Silvio supports the model of farmers owning the lucrative step of coffee roasting and builds towards a sustainable future for coffee farming. We really love coffees like this that sit in the middle, between our classic brown coffees and fruitier blue coffees. This one has loads of body and big chocolate notes with a pop of cherry sweetness. 

Silvio Sanchez grew up in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, a region whose long-established coffee-growing tradition is in decline due to financial pressures that make the industry unappealing. Farmers and agricultural workers often struggle to make a living, and many choose to emigrate in search of better opportunities. Silvio and his mother, despite not coming from a coffee background, decided to buck the trend and start a farm that would be, as they describe it, 'a model farm' that aims for best practices in terms of coffee quality and environmental and social impact. They've achieved their dream, and the farm produces both excellent coffee and real community. Not have they established good working conditions and fair payments, but the farm team also has a barbecue every week where they spend time together and discuss production, upcoming harvests, problems, and successes. The community Silvio has cultivated with his team is one of the keys to the stability of his business. 

Finca Santa Teresa de Mogotón is named for the mountain Cerro Mogotón upon which it sits, just below the peak. Mogotón is the highest mountain in Nicaragua, so it is a spectacular setting. It is also ideal for the cultivation of high-quality arabica, with good levels of rainfall, lots of sunlight in the day, great shade coverage for slow maturation, and low enough nighttime temperatures to create the 'stress' plants need to fruit. The only problem is too much moisture to dry coffee, but Silvio and his team have come up with a clever solution: They pack the cherries carefully into plastic crates and drive them down the mountain to his hometown of Ocotal, which lies at the bottom of the valley and is much hotter and drier. There, Silvio processes the coffees as naturals. The additional resting time while the cherries are loaded and transported allows for a degree of extended fermentation, which contributes to the coffee's developed fruity notes. 

This is year two of buying this lot from Silvio. We're excited to have it back — just as tasty as ever!

Elevation: 1600 Metres Above Sea Level

Varietal: Catuai

Cup Score: 86


Price paid per kilo: £11.11 per kg

Process: Natural