Two farms, one hillside: the story behind our Nicaragua Sajonia

Most coffees are the work of one farm. Our new single origin, Nicaragua Sajonia took two, brought together from neighbouring hillsides in the highlands of Jinotega, in northern Nicaragua. You have probably never heard of either grower. But between them they have produced a coffee that stood out the moment we cupped it this season, and understanding why means starting with the people who grew it.

Servando and Finca La Lapa

When Servando Evaristo Duarte was thirteen, his father gave him a piece of land. Not a working farm, just land. With a machete and no small amount of patience, he began clearing and planting it by hand, and named it Finca La Lapa after a local bird.

That first plot now covers 26 hectares, sitting at 1,300 metres above sea level. Altitude matters here more than almost anything else. At that height the nights turn cold and the coffee cherries ripen slowly, developing the sugars and acidity that give the cup its brightness and fruit. It is the same reason the world's most distinctive coffees tend to come from high ground. Servando's work has since taken him to the Cup of Excellence, Nicaragua's most demanding competition for specialty coffee, which is rare for a farm that started with one determined teenager.

Lorenzo and Finca Los Angeles

A short distance away in San Rafael del Norte lies Finca Los Angeles, and a very different history. Where La Lapa was built from nothing, Los Angeles has passed through three generations of the same family. It began as mixed farmland with cattle among the crops, and has since given itself over entirely to coffee, now managed by Lorenzo Efraín Siles Palacios alongside his two sons at 1,270 metres.

The farm holds a denomination of origin designation for its region, a formal recognition that coffee from this specific pocket of Jinotega carries qualities you cannot replicate elsewhere. Terroir is not only a wine idea. Soil, shade, rainfall and elevation leave their mark on a coffee just as clearly.

Why the processing matters

Both growers treat fermentation as something to be read rather than rushed, and this is where a lot of the flavour in your cup is decided.

At La Lapa, cherries are sorted by variety, pulped, then left to ferment for 18 to 24 hours depending on the weather, before being washed and rested in crates to dry. At Los Angeles the ferment runs a little shorter, 18 to 21 hours, with the washing point judged by hand, followed by 10 to 15 days drying in the sun under close watch to hold the moisture exactly where it needs to be.

Both are fully washed coffees, which is deliberate. Washed processing removes the fruit before the bean dries, and tends to produce a cleaner, brighter, more transparent cup than natural processing, letting the character of the fruit and the farm come through without muddiness. It is the classic choice for a coffee you want to taste clearly, and it suits this lot perfectly.

Why we chose it, and why we back growers like these

We taste a great many coffees that never make it onto our shelves. This one earned its place for two reasons.

The first is simply the cup. Expect a wash of orchard fruits, a lift of grapefruit and a run of blood orange through the middle, with the kind of clarity that rewards a slow brew and a bit of attention. It is built from a varietal mix of Caturra, Pacamara, Maragogype and Catimor, and it tastes like nothing else we are roasting right now.

The second reason is how it is grown. Both farms work with the land rather than against it, and they do it without being asked. La Lapa returns its coffee pulp to the soil as organic matter and has planted living barriers to connect the farm to the nearby El Volcán hill. Los Angeles grows under an agroforestry system, its coffee intercropped with citrus and walnut and kept under 25 to 30 percent shade, with windbreaks and plant barriers that protect the soil and bring wildlife back.

This is the kind of farming we want to support, because it is the kind that lasts. Buying coffee like this means backing growers who invest in their soil, their shade and the next generation, rather than taking as much as they can from the land in a single season. It costs more and it takes more care, and it is exactly why the coffee tastes the way it does. Servando's machete and Lorenzo's three generations are not just a nice story. They are the reason there is something worth putting in your cup.

That is the part you can taste.

Our Nicaragua Sajonia is available now, while the lot lasts. Try it for yourself.