SPECIAL SERIES Filter: Nicaragua El Arbol Carbonic Macerated Maracaturra

This coffee comes from our friend Per Nordby from Gothenburg. We often have coffee delivered from him. We feel we have the same values about coffee that he has. Also our friends Tim and Claudia from Bridazul are involved, who provided us with the delicious Little Red Riding Hood. This coffee has fruity notes of blueberry and red berries, with sweet caramel notes and funky finish.

El Árbol is located in Dipilto, a region in northern Nicaragua. This region became famous when Dipilto farmers won the prestigious competition Cup of Excellence year after year. The climate and altitude in Dipilto has the best conditions in Nicaragua for a great cup of coffee, if picked ripe and carefully treated after harvest.

El Árbol is unlike most other coffee farms, not passed down from generation to generation of coffee farmers. Unique for El Árbol is that the farm is run and owned by a group of friends in the coffee business and Per Nordby was one of them.

Per says: ”My friends and I bought the farm 2015 with the ambition to change the coffee chain and experiment with post harvest processing steps like drying and fermentation.” Now the farm is runned and owned by Claudia Lovo and Sasa Sestic (former World Barista Champion).

The altitude on El Árbol is 1150-1300 meters, a decent altitude but not enough to get the really cold nights that give a high complexity in the cup. This is why El Árbol focuses on getting the highest possible quality from the plants growing on the farm, while also planting varieties new to the region to evaluate how they taste.

Processing is done on the farm and on Bridazul, a process station that Claudia runs as a link between farmers and buyers - providing service for both sides. Farmers put their coffee cherries in the hand of Bridazul that take care of process and quality control without taking over the ownership for the coffee.

Maracaturra is a cross between Maragogype and Caturra is a high-yielding variety from Brazil. It was the result of a naturally occurring cross between the 2 varieties in the 1800s. Now, it is mainly found in Brazil, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The trees are short with verdant foliage that protects it from wind damage.  They are high-yielding and can be planted closely together.