Episode 427 on Monday the 16th of January, 2017. Nicaragua Finca San Jose Pulped Natural Longberry.

In My Mug Audio

We first discovered this farm through the Mierisch auction 'Los Favorties', which is an auction of their finest lots from their nine farms. They sifted through each one of their lots from every farm; all the lots come from various plots on the farms, different harvest days, cultivars, microclimates and, in some cases, different processing methods.

These coffees are truly the best of their production and the best representation in their class. The lot sizes were kept small to make the coffees unique and exclusive.

The San Jose farm was acquired in November 2003. At the time it was completely abandoned, and due to its inaccessibility it's been a work in progress for many, many years. It's up in the chain of mountains that marks the border of Jinotega and surrounds the skirts of Apanas lake at 1,300-1,400 metres above sea level. San Jose overlooks the long-time favourite farm 'Escondida', and that farm can be seen from the very top of San Jose.

It's an incredibly beautiful farm with amazing views that are well worth the off-road trek up the mountain to gain access (even if we did get stuck two times). Dr. Mierisch said that he may build himself a small house on the farm to retire to one day: "overlooking the coffee plants and Lake Apanas in the background sounds like a dream come true".

In the cup there's tea! White tea, with juicy peach and a satisfyingly viscous mouthfeel that makes me think of cocoa butter.

• Country: Nicaragua
• Community: Lipululo
• Departament: Jinotega
• Farm: San Jose
• Farm manager: Jesus Antonio Cruz
• Coffee area: 66 manzanas (hectares)
• Elevation: 1,250–1,400 m.a.s.l.
• Harvest months: December–March
• Diurnal temperature cycle: average: high 27° C, low 15° C
• Varietal: Longberry
• Processing type: Pulped Natural

CUPPING NOTES White tea, peach, cocoa butter.

Clean cup: (1–8): 7
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
Flavour: (1–8): 7
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6
Balance: (1–8): 7
Overall: (1–8): 7
Correction: (+36): +36

Total (max. 100): 89