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Exploring Nicaraguan Coffee Growing Regions and Their Unique Flavor Characteristics

Published: 2026-01-28 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/28, Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information - follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). What are the growing regions of Nicaraguan coffee beans? What unique flavor characteristics do the naturally gifted Nicaraguan coffee beans possess? Nicaragua's coffee-producing regions are divided into three main geographical areas: Northern, Central, and Southern regions. The main coffee-producing areas in the Northern region include: Madriz

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What are the coffee growing regions in Nicaragua? What are the unique flavor characteristics of Nicaraguan coffee beans?

Nicaragua's coffee growing regions are geographically divided into three main areas: Northern, Central, and Southern regions.

The main coffee growing regions in the North include: Madriz, Nueva Segovia, and Esteli. Coffee production from this area accounts for 80% of Nicaragua's total output.

The main growing regions in the Central area are: Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Boaco.

The main growing regions in the South include: Managua, Masaya, Carazo, Granada, and Ometepe.

Nicaragua's coffee cultivation area covers approximately 110,000 hectares, of which 95% is shade-grown. This is particularly significant for environmental protection, especially for the winter migration of North American migratory birds. Additionally, nearly 100% of Nicaragua's coffee is washed Arabica, using traditional washed fermentation methods. After fermentation is complete, the beans are cleaned and then sun-dried, which is their green bean processing method - a very traditional washed and sun-dried method.

Most coffee buyers believe that natural sun-drying is far superior to machine drying for green beans. Because after green beans complete fermentation, if machine drying is used and the temperature is too high or the timing is incorrect, it can cause fatal damage to the aroma and flavor of the green beans. However, not every country has such favorable conditions for natural sun-drying after coffee harvest and fermentation. There are two main factors for this:

The harvest period coincides with the rainy season, or there is insufficient sunlight, such as in Costa Rica. Due to weather factors after coffee harvest, machine drying is predominantly used. Therefore, they have developed extremely strict drying procedures and official regulations to avoid the disadvantages of machine drying while attempting to match the quality of natural sun-drying. Due to terrain factors, some famous growing regions lack large-scale sun-drying grounds, such as in parts of Guatemala.

Nicaragua, however, is truly blessed with unique advantages. After coffee cherry harvest, some regions have dry seasons lasting over 4 months, with ample sunlight. Additionally, in the flat highland areas of the central and northern regions, there are large-scale drying facilities. I once visited a drying facility owned by Vocafe, an exporter, and during the tour, we needed to ride on a tractor-pulled cart. Visually, that drying field was about the size of 10 football fields, and there were at least 5 other drying facilities of similar scale in the surrounding area.

The main coffee varieties grown in Nicaragua include: Caturra, Typica, Bourbon, Catuai, as well as Maragogype and Paca. Each variety exhibits unique flavor characteristics worth trying. This year's Q Competition winning estates or cooperatives primarily competed with the Caturra variety.

Coffee Profile

Country: Nicaragua
Region: Matagalpa
Grade: SHB
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Maragogype (Elephant Bean)
Flavor: Bright acidity with crisp green apple notes, citrus acidity with juicy pear sweetness. The flavor profile is diverse and quite clean, with a rounded body and nutty flavors of caramel and almonds.

Nicaragua is located in central Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Costa Rica to the south, and Honduras to the north. While it's also suitable for coffee cultivation, continuous civil wars from 1838 until their cessation in 1979 finally allowed the coffee industry to recover. Tragically, during the long civil war, numerous landmines were buried in border mountain areas, meaning coffee farmers work alongside these dangerous devices. Family members could be injured or even killed by accidentally triggering landmines. The history behind Nicaraguan coffee isn't just about sweat, but perhaps tears and blood! Looking positively, Nicaraguan coffee is truly admirable!

War creates poverty, and impoverished farmers couldn't afford many chemical fertilizers, unintentionally making Nicaraguan coffee align with 21st-century trends - organic.

Geological and climatic conditions have also created the unique flavor profile of Nicaraguan coffee. Nicaraguan green coffee beans are large in size, with flavors quite different from neighboring countries. The book "Coffee Science" describes the so-called "Nicaraguan flavor" as: cocoa notes, almond aroma, caramel fragrance, low acidity, with darker, deeper flavors. This flavor direction differs from the bright fruit acids typical of other Central and South American coffees. Currently, the main coffee growing regions are Nueva Segovia, Jinotega, and Matagalpa in the north. For green bean grading, Nicaragua uses altitude-based classification, with the highest grade being SHB.

Maragogype beans are three times the size of regular Arabica beans, making them the largest in the world. Maragogype is the most famous variant of Typica, discovered in the Maragogype region of Bahia in northeastern Brazil, hence its name. Currently, only a few countries including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, and Brazil cultivate this variety. Due to harsh growing conditions, the requirement for shade cultivation, long maturation periods, and the need to concentrate nutrients in fewer coffee cherries to achieve large size and good flavor, a single coffee tree can produce limited cherries. Therefore, annual production is not high, and trade volumes are even smaller.

Due to limited production, trading prices remain at a higher level following the principle of scarcity value.

Maragogype grown at 700-800 meters altitude has ordinary flavors without special characteristics. However, Maragogype grown in Matagalpa at over 1000 meters is completely different. It has a gentle, charming fragrance, with mild and stable taste, balanced acidity, slight bitterness, and sweet flavors. Especially its rich fruit aroma and smooth texture are very close to elegant Blue Mountain coffee beans. With sweetness in acidity and full body, it's quite charming. Because its taste profile resembles Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans, some call it "Cuban Blue Mountain," but its price is much lower than Jamaican Blue Mountain, offering excellent value. In recent years, it has received high evaluations in competitions and is the only Maragogype to have been selected as a Cup of Excellence (COE) winner - an outstanding coffee bean!

Cupping Notes

Dry Aroma: Rich fragrance, drupes, berries, citrus, lemon vanilla.
Wet Aroma: Fruit sweetness, sweet fruits, tea aroma, nutty fragrance.
Flavor: Rich caramel notes, quite creamy body, persistent sweet spice notes in the aftertaste with lasting caramel flavor.