Nicaragua San Juan Del Rio Coco – Organic

Origin: Nicaragua
Estate: UCA San Juan del Rio Coco
Estate Size: 2.8 Hectares
Owner: 370+ farmers working with UCA San Juan del Rio Coco
Town: San Juan del Rio Coco
Region: Madriz
Altitude: 900-1300 masl
Crop: 22/23
Varietal: Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra, Maragogype
Processing: Fully Washed
Cupping Score: 84+
Tasting Notes: Roasted Hazelnut, Caramel and Cocoa

Quality control is of the utmost importance for the Unión de Cooperativas Agropecuarias San Juan del Rio Coco (UCA SJRC). To ensure the best drying conditions and avoid taints and defects, farmer members bring their wet parchment to a central drying location, where it is carefully tended by Coop experts. In the cup, this fully washed coffee showcases the Central American profile that’s sweet and nutty with chocolate and citrus.

Spanning five communities in the San Juan del Rio Coco region in Northern Nicaragua, UCA SJRC, helps farmers produce profitable and environmentally responsible coffee.

UCA SJRC is a union of 8 cooperatives in the region that represent more than 370 small producers. The 8 separate cooperatives in the region joined together in 1993 to be able to better help their members better control coffee quality and access better prices. The region and the cooperative are both named after the Rio Coco, a large river that runs through the region. As agrarian communities, the Rio Coco remains a source of an essential element of survival: water.

Harvest & Post-Harvest

Cherry is selectively handpicked. Since most farmers have small plots of land—about 2.8 hectares on average—most of the labor on the farm is completed by family members. However, at the peak of the harvest, the family may hire a few extra hands to help them pick cherry at its ripest.

After harvest, farmers float cherry to remove any underripes or lights that may have been accidentally picked and conduct a visual inspection to remove any cherry that has insect damage or other visible defects. Cherry is then pulped and fermented. About half of UCA SJRC members have their own wet mill. These members can also earn extra income by renting their mills to neighbors who do not own their own set up.

After fermentation, farmers and their families inspect wet parchment a second time for any visual defects. As they inspect it, the wet parchment begins the first stages of drying.

The humid climate of the coffee regions makes it difficult to dry parchment well. Instead, farmers bring their wet parchment down to the town of San Juan del Rio Coco, where UCA SJRC has its own drying and quality control facilities. When farmers deliver their wet parchment, higher prices incentivize them to deliver parchment that is clean of any defects and at the proper moisture content.

The UCA SJRC facility conducts the final drying on a large patio. Lots are kept traceable with tags that detail which sub-cooperative delivered the coffee. After drying dried parchment is placed in bags that identify the quality and source of the coffee and is stored in the warehouse.

When parchment is fully dried, the UCA SJRC quality team cups the lots. Since some defects, such as mold or phenol, might not be visible until the first cupping, the cooperative maintains the right to reject any parchment they’ve purchased until they cup it. This way, the cooperative sells only the highest quality lots. After a resting period, the quality team recups the coffees and decides on the proper quality category for each coffee.

Nicaragua may not be the most famous producer of Central American coffee, but it has great potential. The country is known as the land of ‘los lagos y los volcanes’ (lakes and volcanos) and has many coffee growing ‘pockets’ that few have heard of or experienced. Many producers in the country are experimenting with new varieties and processing methods, making it a specialty origin to watch.

Many coffee producers in Nicaragua today are buoyed by cooperatives that provide a wide array of services, supports and opportunity. As seen in the win of the ‘El Acuerdo de las Tunas’, where 3,000 landless workers won land rights, collective action by farmers can be far more effective at enacting widespread change than the advocacy of individual farmers.

Cooperatives and farmer associations in Nicaragua encompass a large percentage of the country’s coffee producers, and they are taking their destiny in their own hands. By putting great emphasis on quality and by aiming for the international specialty coffee industry, cooperatives and farmers associations are helping their members gain influence and import that will, hopefully, garner enough profit to enable farmers to continue to improve and invest in their farms and their families.

Large and medium-sized (10+ hectare) farms also hold a significant place in Nicaragua’s coffee landscape, as well. Many of these farms have also prioritized social and environmental issues and are working on quality improvements at both cultivation and post-harvest levels.

Farmers, for the most part, will process coffee on their own farms, and the majority of the time coffee is dried on large drying patios under sun.

Small Batch Roasting: Roast For You Service – Terms & Conditions

Introduction

Small Batch Roasting now offers a service that offers personalised coffee roasting for customers who want to enjoy freshly roasted coffee tailored to their preferences.

Roast For You Service

When you choose to have your coffee roasted for you, we will roast the exact amount ordered and roast this for you to the selected roast profile you have chosen. Our small batch roasting process ensures that your coffee is roasted with care and precision, resulting in a high-quality, freshly roasted product.

Minimum Green Weight Requirement

Please be advised that the minimum green weight for roasting any one single origin is 6kg. Any orders placed with less than 6kg of each origin will be placed on hold and may cause delays in being dispatched. We will contact you to discuss how you wish to proceed in this case.

Weight Loss During Roasting

Please be mindful of the weight loss through moisture loss during roasting, which is typically between 12-20% depending on the level of roast. The darker the roast, the higher the moisture loss. This weight loss should be taken into account when ordering your coffee to ensure you receive the desired amount of roasted coffee.

Order Processing Time

Orders for roasted coffees will naturally take a little longer to process. Please allow a minimum of 3 days for your order to arrive from the point of order. If we are able to drop your order in the roasting schedule sooner, we will always endeavor to do so.

Mixed Orders

Mixed orders which include green and roasted coffees will be dispatched together when the roasted coffees are ready. We are unable to split these orders, so please consider the slightly longer delivery times when ordering mixed coffees.

Packaging

Your coffee will be bulk packed into a 6kg bulk bag with an identifying label on only. This packaging ensures that your coffee remains fresh and protected during transit.

Roast Profile and Liability

We will roast to your desired roast profile, but are unable to take any liability for any taste discrepancies that may arise from this. We are unable to take back any coffees once they have been roasted to your desired roast profile.

Yield Estimate

Typically, a medium roast coffee at 6kg green will yield 5.1kg of freshly roasted coffee. This estimate should be taken into account when ordering your coffee to ensure you receive the desired amount of roasted coffee.