COE Coffee: 2021 Nicaragua COE Coffee Bean Auction to Start - Nicaragua Coffee Prices

2021 Nicaragua Cup of Excellence: Record-Chasing Quality

Hot on the heels of the record-breaking 2020 auction, this year's "2021 Nicaragua Cup of Excellence" came within reach of its previous records in quality, producing four coffees scoring above 90 points.

Participants and Auction Information

In this year's competition, 23 coffee producers won COE awards, and all 23 coffees scoring above 87 points went to online auction on Tuesday, June 29th. Alongside them, a group of 12 "National Winners" coffees—scored between 85-87 points by international judges—was auctioned from June 28th to July 9th.

Regions and Processing Methods

Nicaragua's COE-winning coffees all come from the country's most representative Arabica growing regions—Nueva Segovia, Jinotega, and Matagalpa—spanning 12 different varieties processed by washed, natural, honey, or anaerobic methods.

The Top Three

The highest-scoring lot was a washed Pacamara submitted by Jesus Mountain Coffee of Nueva Segovia, one of the region's previous COE winners. Second place in the 2021 Nicaragua Cup of Excellence went to the honey-processed Maracaturra from El Cambalache farm, also in Nueva Segovia, and third place to the natural-processed Catuai from Los Pirineos farm. Each of the top three coffees was divided into two parts for bidding.

Fourth Place

The fourth-ranked coffee was the sole representative from the Estelí region: a washed Geisha from Auxilio Mundial farm, scoring 90.11 points.

A Winner's Reflection

"Thank God, my family, the Cup of Excellence, and the staff who organized this competition. All the effort was worth it. Although some growers think this kind of competition is only for large farms, I proved that even small growers like me have a chance in this competition," said Abner Samuel Zavala of El Cambalache farm, the second-place winner of the 2021 Nicaragua COE, in an announcement from the Alliance for Coffee Excellence.

Support and Recognition

The 2021 Nicaragua Cup of Excellence received strong support from the country's Coffee Agricultural Transformation and Development Committee, and the winners were honored at an awards ceremony on May 14th.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Washed processing is the traditional way of using water to shepherd coffee fruit from cherry to bean: floatation sorting, pulp removal, soaking and fermentation to break down the mucilage, washing or further soaking, drying, then hulling. The long immersion triggers chemical changes inside the bean that consume much of its simple sugars (fructose and glucose), lowering sugar content while raising various organic acids. Washed coffee therefore keeps more of the bean's own aromatics while taking on bright fruit acidity and a clean, fresh character.

FrontStreet Coffee's washed Gedeb (Guodingding) Cooperative from Yirgacheffe is a beautiful example of what meticulous washing can do. Few people realize that Yirgacheffe's smallholders, whose individual harvests are tiny, send their cherries to cooperatives for unified processing and sale—and the Guodingding cooperative, an accomplished processing team from Guodingding village, earned its reputation precisely because its coffee is so refined and clean. The washed process lets it show jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity at their fullest, and a medium-light roast adds green tea and honey tones—lovely as pour-over or cold brew, and equally capable in espresso.

And when it comes to washing, Kenya is in a class of its own: the FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Cherry Tomato (Xiao Fanqie) doubles up the washing process—floatation, soaking, washing off residual mucilage, soaking again, drying, hulling, storage—repeated rinsing and immersion that pushes the fruit-juice sensation to its limit. Expect aromas of cherry tomato, smoked plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar in a sweet-tart, juicy cup—a favorite among serious coffee enthusiasts.