Nicaragua Nueva Segovia Region | Flavor Profile of Washed Maracaturra from Buenos Aires Estate

Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Nueva Segovia Region, Nicaragua | Flavor Profile of Finca Buenos Aires Washed Maracaturra Variety

Finca Buenos Aires is located in Nueva Segovia province, situated in northern Nicaragua, bordering Honduras to the south. At an altitude of approximately 1,350 meters, 60% of the coffee trees on the estate are grown under shade trees. With annual rainfall of about 1,460mm and an average temperature of 22°C, it is considered a premium coffee-growing region. The owner's family started with coffee cultivation from the great-grandmother's era, spanning over 55 years to date. Initially, the land area was not large. After inheriting the business, the owner first invested in cultivating the Maracaturra variety, then gradually purchased nearby large and small farms, forming what is now known as Finca Buenos Aires. The coffee varieties are quite diverse, including Maracaturra, Maragogype, Caturra, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, and Java varieties.

Region Characteristics

Nueva Segovia is located in northern Nicaragua, bordering Honduras, and belongs to a high-altitude premium coffee-producing region. With a sparse population of only 210,000, it's an area rarely visited by tourists. During the civil war, this region was quite unsafe. Despite its mountainous terrain, coniferous forests, and excellent coffee plantations, although not modern enough and with relatively simple accommodations, I greatly love this place. Many high-quality coffee plantations are concentrated in this small area. Coffee farmers in Nueva Segovia, especially those producing high-quality coffee, are quite confident.

Finca Buenos Aires, in Spanish "Finca Buenos Aires," is a typical "market name." When encountering this name, one must carefully examine information such as country name, region name, owner's name, etc., as there are many with the same name. This batch of Finca Buenos Aires was a winning estate in the 2009 Cup of Excellence (CoE), also winning with its large-bean variety.

Maracaturra Variety

Maracaturra is a cross between the commonly known Maragogype (Elephant Bean) and Caturra. Maracaturra, along with Pacamara and Maragogype (Elephant Bean), are commonly known as the "three major beans" - varieties derived from giant beans. Although the beans are large, their specific flavor profiles vary greatly. Cupping is essential, while also considering the producing region, estate, and processing method. One cannot judge quality based solely on bean variety, as this is very risky.

Estate Management and Excellence

Next, let's discuss this coffee estate. The owner of Buenos Aires is Luis Emilio Valladarez. Starting from his great-grandmother's era, his family began growing coffee. After inheriting the business, he gradually purchased neighboring high-quality farmland, forming what is now Buenos Aires Estate, located in Dipilto, Nueva Segovia. Since 2006, OU XIE has been purchasing small farmer batches from this region. In 2010, when "A Jie" came to Nicaragua as a CoE international judge, she also visited this area in-depth and re-cupped our directly traded coffee, including this Maracaturra batch.

Luis Emilio told us that his decisions about planting giant varieties and how to select better batches and improve quality are closely related to his diligent research of new knowledge and continuous cupping. In his office area, there is a cupping lab. Meanwhile, they have also set up their own dry processing facility. Currently, from harvest to dry processing, everything is completed by themselves to ensure quality consistency.

This estate has achieved top 15 rankings in the Cup of Excellence (CoE) in 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, and 2017, with first place in 2015. This demonstrates the owner's continuous improvement in estate management and quality requirements, hoping to market their estate beans globally through annual competition results, allowing more enthusiasts to taste high-quality coffee.

Coffee Details

Origin: Nicaragua

Estate: Finca Buenos Aires

Owner: Luis Emilio Valladarez

Town: Dipilto

Region: Nueva Segovia

Altitude: 1300 meters

Variety: Maracaturra

Processing: Washed method, dried on raised beds

Cupping Notes

Cupping: OU XIE M0 roast level, removed at first crack medium, roasting time 12 minutes.

Dry Aroma: Vanilla, berries, green apple, sweet fragrance

Wet Aroma: Citrus, berries, sweet vanilla, white pomelo

Sipping: Very clean, fresh berries, citrus candy, toffee, plum, smooth body, vanilla, brown sugar, delicate and persistent aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First infusion with 25g water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second infusion to 120g water, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue slow infusion until reaching 225g total water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using three-stage brewing to clearly define the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because V60 has many ribs and drains faster, pausing the water flow can extend the extraction time.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473