Episode 469 on Monday the 6th of November, 2017. Nicaragua Finca La Escondida Washed Catuai

Finca La Escondida is close to Lake Apanas near the city of Jinotega, which is the capital of the department of Jinotega in the north-central region of Nicaragua. The straight translation from Spanish to English of 'escondida' is ‘hidden’. Escondida is called 'Escondida' because the farm is 'hidden' from the road by forest and trees, which makes it appear to blend right into the side of the mountain.

La Escondida is a rather young farm as coffee farms go, because the first trees were planted there only ten years ago – in 2006. La Escondida is planned around identifying the plots with individually different micro-environments resulting from factors such as soil quality, sun exposure and temperature range. This is one of the upsides of starting to plant a new farm.

This is the varietal Catuai, which you don't see so much in specialty coffee. The varietal was selected for this farm as it was thought it would do very well with the identified soil quality, sun exposure, temperature range, and weather conditions in particular, given the farm's quite exposed on the side of the mountain.

Catuai is related to Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo and is a hybrid that grows best above 800 metres. It is mostly prevalent in Brazil and Central / South America. This is a dwarf variety of plant; it doesn't grow very high, and this is its most obvious distinguishing trait. Selected by the Instituto Agronomico in the 1950s, it now accounts for 50% of the coffee acreage in Brazil and is widely used in Central America. It also benefits from the fruit not falling off the branch easily, which helps when there are strong winds or rain, or where wind breaker coverage is at a minimum, like it is here.

Some of the downsides of starting a brand new farm can be that it may take a while for the quality of the cup profile to build up; it might take time to have the right facilities for processing and picking; and it might take time to train the staff for picking and processing. Not to mention that it might take a while to achieve the yield to go with it all. But this farm, for me, has hit the whole group of requirements running. As a result of their experience in the area, the Mierisch family have built a new mill with a huge investment, and they use some of the people already in place in the neighbouring 'San Jose' to blend together an Escondida team comprising of experienced and new members.

In the cup you can expect a very sweetness-driven coffee with a big juicy citrus acidity – think green Starburst sweets and lemon. If you don't believe me about the Starburst thing, try one with the coffee!

Country: Nicaragua
Municipality: Lipululo
Department: Jinotega
Farm: La Escondida
Farm manager: Boanerje Martinez Montenegro
Coffee growing area: 92 manzanas
Elevation: 975–1,230 m.a.s.l.
Harvest months: December–March
Diurnal temperature cycle: average: high 27C, low 16 C
Varietal: Catuai
Fermentation: Yes
Fermentation method: Dry
Processing method: Washed