Nicaragua Las Golondrinas
The Cup of Excellence season is always one of the highlights of the year for the Stumptown. We cup through the very best Latin American coffee lots with hopes of bringing some shining beauties home to Portland. This year, Stumptown had the biggest presence of all the players at auction time, bringing home several stunning coffees including the crown jewel of the season, Las Golondrinas.
To ensure no bias, we always cup our samples blind without knowing which sample is which. There was no denying Las Golondrinas, scored #1 by the international jury in Nicaragua. It was unmistakably the head of the class on the table. It's thick caramel notes, granny smith apple, kiwi and apricot flavors had us awestruck and thirsting for more. Nothing was going to stop us from purchasing this coffee and showing it off to our customers.
We anxiously awaited the auction and diligently bid on Las Golondrinas. It was at $10/lb just a few minutes into the bidding. Then $14/lb, then $20, upwards of $30/lb and we weren't hesitating to push harder. The bidding finally skidded to a halt at $47.06/lb! This is the all-time record for a Central American coffee outside of the fabled Panama Esmeralda Especial. The entire lot belongs to Stumptown.
We began investigating Las Golondrinas after the auction and found out that the farm is tucked away in far north Nicaragua, just below the Honduran border, in the province of Nueva Segovia. After making such a monumental purchase we wasted no time and made our way down to visit Don Marcio Peralta at his farm.
After the a 3.5 hour journey north from Managua, I spent the night all in Ocotal, the capital of Nueva Segovia, before making the short trek out to Mozonte, the sub-region home to Las Golondrinas. Mozonte town is only a 15-minute drive from Ocotal and is quite the typical Central American country town. Cement brick streets, a tiny church on every other corner, and in the blink of an eye and you miss it all. The far Western end of Mozonte is an arid zone, nothing what coffee country looks like. I was a bit stunned as we wound our way towards Don Marcio's farm. Finally, after a seemingly vertical incline, we plunged over one final rocky ridge into one the most verdantly lush jungles I've seen; especially at these altitudes in Central America. After another 15 minutes we had dropped down to 1400 meters above sea level, roughly 4600 ft., and arrived the gates of Las Golondrinas.
Don Marcio Peralta was there to greet us. He's an older fella but maneuvered around his farm like a 15 year old kid eager to show off his prize. We hiked underneath amazing canopy, through forests of bamboo and across a bustling river until we reached that prize. We were standing on the El Cedro lot, the parcel of land responsible for producing our #1 CoE coffee. We were up at 1500 meters at this point and were surrounded by perfectly healthy Villasarchi trees. This varietal produces extremely well in shaded areas and at altitude. At 1500 meters and in the middle of a bamboo forest, El Cedro offers both. With perfect picking habits during the harvest, its no wonder Don Marcio has the most beautiful and unforgettable Nicaraguan coffee. It was an extremely special moment that only a world-class coffee could have created.
We've been giddy with excitement waiting for this coffee to arrive and it's finally here. You won't find Las Golondrinas at any other roastery on earth and it's in very limited supply. Come on in and enjoy a cup with us while it lasts!
