Introduction to Java Nica from San José Estate | What Estates are in Nicaragua?

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Java Variety from San Jose Estate

The Java variety from San Jose Estate belongs to the long-bean classical lineage (it is not a genetically modified variety), and it offers floral aromas along with quite sweet fruit flavors.

San Jose Estate belongs to the same family as La Minita and Lemon Tree. In the early days, the proportion of Java planted at San Jose was far lower than at Lemon Tree Estate. Thanks to its excellent quality, cultivation has gradually increased, but yields are still far below those of the Caturra variety.

Introduction to Java Variety and San Jose Estate

San Jose Estate is located in Jinotega Province, a major coffee-producing region of Nicaragua, with numerous coffee plantations along the way. San Jose itself has a well-equipped processing facility. On arrival that day, workers were unloading the first batch of cherries harvested that morning, preparing for the initial stage of reception and water screening.

San Jose Estate sits in the highlands near the beautiful Lake Apanas, with stunning scenery. The first visit took place around noon, when lingering water vapor made a clear lake view hard to capture, but every afternoon visit brings the most anticipated sunset over the water. The path along the way is steep, and the fertile volcanic soil gives San Jose's coffee beans a delicate, sweet taste.

The estate's patriarch, Inversiones Mierisch - father of Erwin Mierisch, a Cup of Excellence head judge - told me that although San Jose has relatively steep terrain, it is an excellent microclimate site with very fertile soil. It can therefore produce small lots of specialty coffee specifically for small boutique roasters, though only a few small lots are available each year, typically selected by discerning cupping experts. Since the Cup of Excellence smallholder cupping competition began in 2013, he has invited experts and family cuppers to cup together, and only micro-lots scoring above 87 points are entered into the competition lots. The inaugural event in 2013 was quite successful, and he decided to continue entrusting the Cup of Excellence to organize smallholder competitions. Four years ago, Inversiones Mierisch believed that although Nicaragua's specialty coffee was progressing rapidly, the fundamentals still needed improvement: being more selective than roasters is necessary to sustain the favor of connoisseurs, and even more investment in research on the relationship between flavor and processing methods is required. Judging by the cupping quality of all smallholder competition samples over the past two years, he has indeed achieved this.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends water at 89-90°C, a small water flow in three-stage extraction, a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, and an extraction time of about two minutes.

Flavor Profile

High mountain tea aroma, peach, walnut, floral notes, vanilla, hazelnut chocolate, and sugarcane, with remarkable delicacy, roundness, and a persistent sweet aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the Java variety's floral aroma and sweet fruit, FrontStreet Coffee's Strawberry Candy is a natural match. It blends a Costa Rican honey-processed coffee with a washed Panamanian Geisha, and at a medium roast it shows both the orange-blossom honey character of Geisha and a rounded sweetness, with a bouquet that suits cold brew, pour-over, and espresso alike.

For a gentler, more everyday cup in the same balanced style, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Manor is grown from the distinctive yellow Bourbon variety and roasted medium. It brings cream, peanut, chocolate, toasted bread, and sugarcane aromas and sweetness, and it brews well as pour-over or in a moka pot, rounding out a light, sweet profile like the one described above.

To brew either one in the style FrontStreet Coffee suggests for a delicate, floral coffee, use 89-90°C water, a 1:15 ratio, and a gentle three-stage pour that finishes in about two minutes.