Episode 510: Nicaragua Finca La Escondida Washed Red Catuai

Finca La Escondida is close to Lake Apanas near the city of Jinotega, which is the capital of the department of Jinotega in the north-central region of Nicaragua. The straight translation from Spanish to English of 'escondida' is ‘hidden’. Escondida is called 'Escondida' because the farm is 'hidden' from the road by forest and trees, which makes it appear to blend right into the side of the mountain.

In the grand scheme of coffee farm things La Escondida is still a rather young farm, the first trees were planted there only 12 years ago – in 2006. La Escondida is planned around identifying the plots with individually different micro-environments resulting from factors such as soil quality, sun exposure and temperature range. This is one of the upsides of starting to plant a new farm.

The varietal of this lot is Red Catuai, which was selected for this farm as it was thought it would do very well with the identified soil quality, sun exposure, temperature range, and weather conditions in particular, given the farm's quite exposed on the side of the mountain.

Catuai is related to Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo and is a hybrid that grows best above 800 metres. It is mostly prevalent in Brazil and Central / South America. This is a dwarf variety of plant; it doesn't grow very high, and this is its most obvious distinguishing trait. Selected by the Instituto Agronomico in the 1950s, it now accounts for 50% of the coffee acreage in Brazil and is widely used in Central America. It also benefits from the fruit not falling off the branch easily, which helps when there are strong winds or rain, or where wind breaker coverage is at a minimum, like it is here.

Some of the downsides of starting a new farm can be that it may take a while for the quality of the cup profile to build up; it might take time to have the right facilities for processing and picking; and it might take time to train the staff for picking and processing. Not to mention that it might take a while to achieve the yield to go with it all. But this farm, for me, has hit the whole group of requirements running. As a result of their experience in the area, the Mierisch family built a mill with a huge investment, and they used some of the people already in place in the neighbouring 'San Jose' to blend together an Escondida team comprising of experienced and new members.

In the cup this is like a smooth, extra sweet hot chocolate. There's bags of white sugar and milk chocolate, but a delicate apricot to the finish rounds it out and makes even more easy to go back for another swig of.

• Country: Nicaragua
• Department: Jinotega
• Farm: La Escondida
• Farm manager: Boanerje Martinez Montenegro
• Coffee growing area: 92 manzanas
• Altitude: 975–1,230 m.a.s.l.
• Varietal: Red Catuai
• Fermentation: Yes
• Fermentation method: Dry
• Processing method: Washed

CUPPING NOTES

Hot chocolate, white sugar, apricot.

Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5
Flavour: (1–8): 6.5
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5
Balance: (1–8): 6.5
Overall: (1–8): 6.5
Correction: (+36): +36

Total: (max. 100): 88

Roasting Information
Medium dark - take this through first and just look for the first pops of second as you're finishing the roast.

"Quick Look" Guide
Hot chocolate, white sugar, apricot.