Nicaragua La Andrea by Mauricio Paguaga
Tastes: Cashew, sweet, light
Variety: Bourbon
Region: Las Sabanas, Madriz
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1450-1610 m
Importer: Aroma Nica
We procured this coffee through the efforts of Maria Fiallos of Aroma Nica. She gave us a sample of this coffee, and we liked it! In Maria's own words: I am very excited to share with you a little history behind the coffee from finca La Andrea.
The Paguaga family is well known to my family. My father was a young man, when he used to visit Mr. Paguaga’s father's farm on horse with my grandfather. It is a farm located in the same mountain region of Tepesomoto- Pataste in the municipality of Las Sabanas. Finca La Andrea sits on altitudes ranging from 1450 and 1610 m.a.s.l. It is a traditional farm in every sense you can imagine. The plantations grow under the shade of the natural forest of the mountains. Those mountains are protected from logging, a movement spirited by many of the coffee growers of the area, just after the cease of fire of the 1990s; as long as the area produced coffee, it is protected from logging companies coming in. We have been lucky to preserve shade that is not seen in other coffee areas, which of course has been crucial to defend our plantations from the droughts of the past decade, and also the mudslides of hurricanes Eta and Iota most recently.
Although most farms in the area of Las Sabanas, Madriz, are not certified organic, their agricultural methods meet every of the standards to control diseases and pests using biological methods, and work within all of the natural benefits of a well-cared for shade plantation. These are methods that passed on from my grandfather and Mr. Paguaga’s father as well, anything from the manual weeding and cleaning of plantations using machetes instead of herbicides, planting trees in curves and different levels to avoid erosion, to the density of plantations only 2800 plants per manzana.
Around 1997, the Bourbon seeds that came to Las Sabanas, (as growers began to renovate their plantations after all of the years of civil war), were from El Salvador, Bourbon Tekisic. My father planted some as well in my grandfather’s farm. It is a great Bourbon that has done exceptionally well in the area. As you discovered in the cup, the fruit is harvested at the peak of ripeness. It is a washed coffee, and usually in our area, temperatures and altitude, allow a fermentation time of approx. 24 hours. After washing, it is taken to the African beds and patios for drying. It is given a resting period (reposo) of about 22 days before it is taken to the dry mill for milling and sorting.
I have worked with Mr. Paguaga for almost 20 years. The first harvest we worked together on was the harvest of 2007. Ever since, every harvest, I have brought some of his to Canada.