Nicaragua: Jinotega
Roast: Light-Medium
Region: Jinotega
Farm: A collection of family microlots in the Jinotega Region
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1,300-1,600m
Variety: Red & Yellow Caturra, Red & Yellow Catuai, Bourbon, & Pache
Cup: Cocoa Nib, Cinnamon Apple, Sparkling Grape Juice
Cupping Notes
For us, this is classic Nicaragua...
Winey notes, sparkling and apple-like acidity, bitter chocolate... it's all there. It's a delightful coffee and flies under too many radars for how much of a crowd-pleaser it should be.
Here's what we're tasting:
Cocoa Nib. Up front and center is a bitter, albeit EXTREMELY pleasantly bitter, chocolate note! Just like a nice dark chocolate, there's a "realness" to it. Meaning, cocoa leads the way... and we relate that flavor most to a fresh cocoa nib.
Cinnamon Apple. Another aspect of Nicaraguan coffees that we tend to find here at Peregrine is this distinct apple-like (malic) acidity. We love it. Pair it with a complimentary dose of baking spices (particularly cinnamon) and you're being transported to cinnamon apple heaven. Who wants apple pie?
Sparkling Grape Juice. Adding to the vibrancy of this coffee, there's a fun "sparkling" (phosphoric) acidity present. We found it reminded us most of a chilled white wine... think chardonnay or pinot grigio. But, paired with that sparkling acidity and sweetness elsewhere in the cup, perhaps "sparkling grape juice" is most accurate to the experience on your palate.
Farming Notes
Jinotega… A region now synonymous with great, vibrant coffees coming out of Nicaragua!
We have been blessed, year after year, to be able to source impeccable coffees from these farmers with the help of Ben at Gold Mountain Coffee Growers.
Here’s a bit more from Ben and his team:
Gold Mountain Coffee Growers teamed up with several of its members in the Jinotega coffee producing region to bring you this medal-winning lot. Although this is a volume lot, every pound of coffee is fully traceable by producer, parcel and variety in order to improve standards of living and minimize the environmental impact of coffee farming. Gold Mountain Coffee Growers treats coffee farming like fine wine production, working on traceability, wet processing, drying, transport, picking techniques, financial management, and much more with each farmer. Gold Mountain even places its ripeness teams on every single farm during picking to ensure award-winning results.
We have been truly wow-ed by Gold Mountain and their efforts to make even the community lots like this ultra-traceable.
For instance, here is a list of the member farmers who contributed to producing this coffee:
Ada Oneyda
Carlos José García
Cruz Alejandro Gonzalez G
David & Cheyling
Delvin
Elmer Leandro Montengro
Ernesto Benito Blandon
Harling
Isidro Vasquez
Jayzer
Jorge Hernandez
Juan Lucas Gonzalez
Kevin Aaron Jarquin Gonzalez
Luisa Maria Mendoza
Maria Eugenia Jiron
Moises Gonzalez Gutierrez
Pablo A. Salgado Lanzas
Richard Beltran
When we say we work with small producers with real names and families, this is what we mean. Thanks to your purchases, we can support the betterment of the lives of Gold Mountain producers and their families. So buy a bag already… what are you waiting for?!