Nicaragua washed Arabica SHG EP Fairtrade (FLO), Organic

Nicaragua is one of the biggest coffee producers in Central America. Coffee from this large but thinly populated country is of high quality and complex flavor. In the past, coffee production has suffered from devastating hurricanes and political and financial instability. Luckily, the situation has visibly recovered in the past 20 years. Producers are now keen to develop their agricultural practices within an improving infrastructure to revive their reputation in the specialty coffee scene.

Most coffee in Nicaragua is grown in the regions of Jinotega, Matagalpa, and Nueva Segovia, although there are some smaller coffee-producing regions such as Madriz and Boaca. This coffee was produced in Nueva Segovia by farmers from PRODECOOP. The cooperative was founded in 1993 in the Segovia region of northern Nicaragua. It was born with the mission to improve the quality of life of its members, their families, and their communities. Some of their sustainable development projects include topics such as gender equality and climate change adaptation. Moreover, PRODECOOP is made up of some 2,400 members, 30% of whom are women. They are also Fairtrade certified and distribute a proportion of the Fairtrade Premium to its members. The rest is invested in business development, primary school equipment, training, food security programs, and more.

All PRODECOOP coffees are shade-grown in the wet tropical climate, typical to Central America. It is classified as a Strictly High Grown (SHG) EP. SHG specifies that the coffee was grown above 1,200 masl. EP stands for “European Preparation” and refers to Screen 15+ beans with a low defect tolerance. The result in the cup is smooth and sweet, with herbal notes and flavors of nuts and sweet chocolate.