Rodriguez Nicaragua Farmer & Coffee Intro
People who, full of passion for quality & innovation, build their own machines and don't even let political instability stop them: That's what makes the nutty, chocolaty Specialty Coffee from Nicaragua so special for us.
THE FARMER
Byron Rodriguez started working on his father's plantation as a teenager, earning pocket money by going to farms in the area and doing repairs. As his father's plantation, San Isidro, grew larger, he took on the task of building what is known as a "wet mill," a facility that separates the pulp from the coffee beans. Byron threw himself into the project with enthusiasm, building every screw by hand. Today, San Isidro is known for this very special jewel, the handmade hulling machine.
ORIGIN
Finca San Isidro is located in lush forested mountains in Nueva Segovia (one of the northernmost administrative districts of Nicaragua) bordering with Honduras. Since the protests against the Ortega government in 2018, the farmers have suffered from the precarious political situation. Becuase of this situation and also because of devastating natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes) Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. We are impressed that the Rodriguez family produces high quality coffee under these difficult conditions.
Quote from Byron Rodriguez of the San Isidro plantation in Nicaragua:
"Constant innovation and development is the key to being able to grow premium specialty coffee."
THE STORY
Since 2017, Byron Rodriguez has been supplying coffee from his San Isidro plantation to Expocamo, which provides centralized coffee bean drying, sorting, and export services. Expocamo was founded by Francisco Javier Valle Garcia, who is driven by a passion: Helping the people of Nicaragua to work in a more sustainable and economically rewarding way. Therefore, the most important thing in their collaboration is the transfer of knowledge. Francisco is convinced that Nicaraguan coffee can play a prominent role on the world stage, and he does everything he can to ensure that farmers are trained fairly and sustainably so they can deliver consistent excellence.
THE PRODUCTION
The optimally ripened fruit is picked, stripped of its pulp and stored in fermentation tanks for 14 to 20 hours. Then they are washed with clear water. The wet fruits go directly to Expocamo, where they dry on raised drying beds under shady trees. Depending on the weather, this process takes 12 to 18 days.
ALL THE WAY TO YOU
-
From cultivation to depulping (wet milling)
Byron Rodriguez from Finca San Isidro -
Drying & Grading
Expocamo -
Preparation & Export (Dry Milling)
Vencafe CETREX -
Export
Expocamo -
Transport
Evergreen Logistics -
Import
TSU trade - Roasting
farmersvaluefirst in cooperation with selected craft roasters in Holland & Germany (craft roast) -
Distribution
farmersvaluefirst
COFFEE OVERVIEW
- Taste: The coffee from Nicaragua convinces with its nutty-chocolate taste.
- Altitude: 1450m above sea level
- Variety: 100% Arabica Varieties: Caturra, Paca, Red Catuaí, Java, Catimor, Maragogype, Maracaturra
- Production: "fully washed" hand-picked, processed with water, fermented, washed, dried
- Price that the Rodriguez family of farmers receives from us: on average 100% above the world market price.
- SCA Rating: Our Arabica coffee from Nicaragua received an excellent 84 points (out of a possible 100). The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) rates green coffee according to strict sensory and physical criteria. These tastings are called "cuppings." When a coffee achieves a rating of over 80 points, it qualifies as a "specialty coffee" - an achievement of which the coffee grower can be proud! The following gradations exist:
- 80 - 84.99 points: very good »Rodriguez Nicaragua«
- 85 - 89,99 points: excellent
- 90 - 100 points: outstanding (less than 1% of the world's harvested coffees receive this rank!) More information about the SCA can be found here: SCA Coffee Standards