Nicaragua Finca El Guapo Washed Maracaturra - 2017 COE Champion Farm

Nicaragua's high-grown washed coffees have quietly become competition heavyweights, and the farm behind the 2017 Cup of Excellence championship - known here as Kung Fu Estate (Finca El Guapo) - grows a remarkable giant-bean variety called Maracaturra. Below is the lot's story and full specifications.

FrontStreet Coffee - Nicaragua Kung Fu Estate Washed Maracaturra

For impoverished Nicaragua, coffee is the main export crop. In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused 30% loss to coffee crops. Besides direct destruction, 20% of losses were due to inaccessible roads.

Most of Nicaragua's washed Arabica coffee grows in fertile volcanic ash soil. Generally, coffee from Matagalpa and Jinotega's San Ramon are considered the best, all SHG grade, known for large beans, slightly salty acidity, excellent aroma, and medium to full body. Nicaragua also has Maragogype coffee, but it's not as popular as Guatemala's, yet it remains the world's largest coffee bean.

Nicaragua Kung Fu Estate Washed Maracaturra

Coffee Region: Jinotega - Aranjuez

Quality Grade: 2017 Nicaragua COE Champion Estate

Variety: Maracaturra

Processing: Washed

Altitude: 1300-1400m

Roast Level: Medium-Dark

Flavor: Balanced, caramel sweetness, subtle fruit acidity

Maracaturra is itself a fitting variety for a champion farm: a natural cross of the giant Maragogype and the productive Caturra, it inherits Maragogype's outsized bean size while keeping Caturra's sweetness and vigor. Washed at 1300-1400 meters in Jinotega's Aranjuez valley, the lot shows the classic Nicaraguan profile - balance first, caramel sweetness in the middle, and only a subtle fruit acidity at the edges - which is why FrontStreet roasts it medium-dark to emphasize body and caramelized sugars over brightness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy this washed, sweet-and-balanced style, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative offers the washed process at its most floral. From Guodingding village in the Worka area of Yirgacheffe, this skilled cooperative's meticulous processing reveals jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity to the fullest; after a medium-light roast, the cup adds green tea and honey tones, suiting pour-over, cold brew, and even espresso.

Kenya takes washed coffee in a juicier direction. FrontStreet's Kenya Cherry Tomato uses the country's celebrated double washed process - an extra round of flotation, soaking, washing away residual mucilage, soaking again, then drying and hulling - to present a fruit-juice texture at its most extreme, with rich aromas of cherry tomato, dried plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, sweet-sour and succulent.

And for the timeless washed classic, FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 traces its method back to Jamaica's island climate, where shorter sunshine hours made washing essential to prevent the beans from spoiling. Removing skin, pulp, and mucilage before drying shortens drying time and yields translucent, low-defect beans, ensuring a richly aromatic cup of hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel with perfect balance - no single flavor standing out or falling short.