How Nicaraguan Natural Process Elephant Beans Are Made & Nicaragua Coffee Bean Grading

Brewing Nicaraguan Maragogipe by Hand

Use 15g of coffee ground to a medium grind size, brewed in a V60 dripper with water at 88-89°C. Start with a 30g bloom pour and let it sit for 27 seconds. Then pour up to 105g; once the water level drops to about half the coffee bed, continue pouring slowly until you reach 225g. Cut the brew before the tail end. The water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, with a total extraction time of 2:00.

La Tormenta FRANCISCO IRENE OLIVERA Maragogype Natural

Country: Nicaragua

Region: Francisco

Altitude: 1400-1450m

Harvest Period: December through March of the following year

Processing Method: Natural (dry) process

Variety: Maragogipe (Elephant Bean)

Mill: La Tormenta Estate

Flavor Notes: Pineapple, winey aromatics, and stone fruit, with caramel and roasted nuts in the finish

Nicaraguan Coffee at a Glance

Nicaraguan coffee is grown mainly in four regions: Segovias, Matagalpa/Jinotega, Boaco, and the Pacific coastal area. The Segovias region sits at the highest elevations, from 1,500 to 2,000 meters, and produces the country's top grade, SHG (Strictly High Grown).

Nicaraguan coffee tends to be deep and rich, with chocolate and caramel sweetness, a pronounced almond note, and lively acidity. Compared with the bright, fruity acidity typical of other Central American coffees, Nicaragua offers something distinctly its own. The country's unique coffee ecosystem — fertile volcanic soil combined with shade-grown cultivation — creates outstanding growing conditions. The result is a cup with both full body and clean aromatics, rated highly by international coffee experts and steadily building a reputation in the specialty coffee world.

Maragogipe, the Elephant Bean

Maragogipe, commonly called the Elephant Bean, produces beans three times the size of ordinary coffee beans or larger. Its taxonomic name derives from the Maragogype district in Bahia state, Brazil, where this giant mutation of Arabica was first identified and classified in 1870.

In the cup it is full and layered, combining bright stone-fruit acidity with rich spiced sweetness. Expect a wide range of flavors — apricot, vanilla, mint chocolate, pineapple, citrus, and caramel sweetness. It more than lives up to its reputation as a remarkable coffee.

Product Information

Roaster: FrontStreet Coffee

Contents: House-roasted coffee beans

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk coffee beans

Form: Roasted whole beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Nicaragua

Roast Degree: Medium roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Brewing this natural Maragogipe by hand is a great way to experience what a well-designed pour-over dripper can do. FrontStreet favors the Hario V60, a dripper first developed by the Japanese glassware maker Hario, founded in Tokyo in 1921, and redesigned into its familiar form in 2004. Its 60-degree cone and signature single large outlet let the flow rate depend entirely on the brewer's pouring control, extending the contact between water and coffee so that aromatics and flavor extract fully. That fast, clean extraction is exactly what fruity naturals like this Nicaraguan Elephant Bean need to show their pineapple, winey, and stone-fruit character.

If you enjoy this style of coffee, FrontStreet also recommends two contrasting pour-over options from its own range. The FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling from Indonesia, roasted a little deeper, offers a very different profile: heavy and long on the palate, with herbal notes, dark chocolate, and just a touch of earthiness — a favorite for drinkers who dislike acidity. For something in between, the FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 strikes a near-perfect balance of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma, with layered notes of cream, caramel, chocolate, nuts, and honey, a soft rounded entry, and a long clean finish — the coffee many professionals call the easiest specialty coffee for almost anyone to love.