Understanding Nicaraguan Coffee as a Home Brewer

Nicaragua is found in the northern regions of Latin America. Coffee from Nicaragua is grown at high elevations compared to other countries in the region. This inherently makes the coffee from there taste more fruity and gets it to stand out from its neighboring origins.

In this guide, we take a look at Nicaraguan coffee and discuss everything you need to know as a home brewer when brewing these coffees.

How does Nicaraguan Coffee Taste?

Any well-roasted and good-quality coffee will have its own distinct flavors. The country a coffee comes from is one big factor that influences its taste.

If we were to describe coffee through color, we’d put Nicaraguan coffee in the yellow-green area. Lemony-citrus notes, mangosteen, florals, and sweet confectionaries come to mind. These coffees also share the fruity characteristics and higher acidity that the other coffees in the lighter spectrum have.

Conversely, coffee origins represented with darker colors will taste the opposite. These will be richer and have characteristics similar to dark chocolates and cacao.

Nicaragua Compared to Other Origins

To be able to better pick out the flavors of a coffee, it’s always best to reference it with other coffees. If you want to get a general understanding of how your coffee of choice tastes, try it side-by-side with a coffee that naturally tastes very different.

In this case, try comparing a coffee from Nicaragua with a coffee from Brazil or Indonesia. In comparison, it will be easy to pick out the more light and fruity flavors of the Nicaraguan coffee. The contrast will be more apparent since coffees from Brazil and Indonesia naturally taste quite heavy and earthy.

The more similar a coffee is from another, the harder it will be to compare since they will share many general characteristics. In this case, 2 different coffees from Nicaragua are still likely to taste similar to one another.

Nicaraguan Coffee Flavor Profile

Coffee from Nicaragua has fruity characteristics similar to African coffees when it comes to its acidity and aroma. They are also not as rich in mouthfeel as other Latin American coffees are. But they still have the same chocolatey flavors characteristic of coffees from that continent.

The relatively high altitudes where coffees grow in Nicaragua slow down the ripening of the coffee cherry. This allows the sugars to concentrate more inside the fruit, which likewise translates to the coffee. That’s why coffee from this origin can be quite light and have a pronounced acidity that isn’t as prominent in Latin American coffees.

What to Know When Buying Nicaraguan Coffees

Varietals

Apart from the origin itself, varietals can also largely influence taste. Most coffee producers in Nicaragua grow Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Catimor. Incidentally, these varietals are also common all across Central America. Hence, why Nicaraguan coffees still retain notes of sweet confectionaries (like nougat, caramel, etc.) that we commonly associate with Latin America.

Nicaragua exclusively grows Arabica coffee. Here’s an expansive list of Arabica varietals commonly found in Nicaragua:

• Bourbon
• Caturra
• Typica
• Catuai
• Catimor
• Maracaturra
• Javanica
• Pacamara
• Maragogype

Among these varietals, Bourbon, Typica, Maragogype, and Javanica tend to get good reviews from the coffee community. Bourbon is known for its sweetness; Typica for its delicate acidity; Maragogype for its large shape and pronounced acidity; and Javanica for its floral and citric qualities similar to Ethiopian coffee.

The Javanica varietal actually originated from Africa and then made its way to Java (Indonesia) and then to Nicaragua. Javanica is the same Java varietal found in Bolivia and Indonesia – just named differently since it’s grown in Nicaragua.

On the flip side, varietals like Caturra and Catimor don’t always get good reviews from the community. While they can taste good, many tend to describe these varietals as sometimes grassy or harsh in flavor.

Typically, coffees farms in Nicaragua (and other parts of Latin America) mix varietals in a single lot of coffee (usually Caturra, Catimor, Catuai, and Bourbon). Most of the time it’s unclear which varietal makes up most of that coffee.

If possible, however, try looking for a coffee made either of only one varietal or one that predominantly features the Bourbon varietal in the mix. This would be a indicator that you’re getting a better coffee.

Regions

Most of Nicaragua’s coffees come from three regions in the country: Jinotega, Nueva Segovia, Matagalpa.

Jinotega

Jinotega is the first region in the country to start cultivating coffee seeds. Elevations in this region range from 1,100 to 1,700 meters above sea level. Producers from this region common grow Bourbon, Catimor, and Caturra varietals.

Nueva Segovia

This is a region that is starting to gain attention from the specialty coffee scene. In recent years, coffees from Nueva Segovia have dominated the Cup of Excellence competition – a yearly award held to identify the highest quality coffee produces in a country. In 2018, 5 winning coffees for this competition came from this region.

Apart from the other varietals commonly grown in Nicaragua, producers from this region tend to a lot of Java/Javanica and Maragogype varieties. The elevations for most farms in Nuevo Segovia are also quite high. These growing conditions help bring more fruity and complex flavors to these varieties.

Matagalpa

Compared to the other regions, elevations in Matagalpa are fairly low – ranging from 1,000 to 1,400 meters above sea level. Farmers mostly grow Bourbon and Catimor varietals here.

Coffee Processing

Farms in Nicaragua generally process their coffee in one of three ways:

• Washed / Wet Process
• Natural / Dry Process
• Honey / Pulp Natural Process

Most producers wash-process their coffees. The producers soak the coffee cherries in water to remove everything until only the seed (in our case the actual coffee bean) is left. The coffee is then left to ferment for a certain amount of time before drying. This processing method is known to produce uniform beans that taste clean and are enjoyable to drink.

While not as common as washed-processed coffees, more farms are starting to produce natural-processed coffees. After the producers harvest, they leave the cherries to dry under the sun for a number of days. This causes the coffee bean to ferment (while it is still inside the cherry) and absorb more of the sugars from the fruit itself.

Natural-processed coffees can taste more heavy and fruity then their washed counterparts. But this processing can be inconsistent since both bean quality and taste won’t be as uniform. This is because some of the cherries over-ferment during the drying process.

The least common processing method in Nicaragua is the honey process. This is essentially an in-between of natural and washed processing. The skin of the coffee cherry is removed but some mucilage of the fruit is left to ferment with the bean.

Honey processing coffees can also vary in terms of flavor. Depending on how much mucilage the producers leave on the bean, a honey processed coffee could taste almost as clean as a washed coffee. Or it could taste as heavy and fruity as a natural coffee.

From Farm to Cup

The coffee community tends to give mixed reactions with coffee from Nicaragua. As an origin, Nicaragua does not stand out as much compared to others that export less coffee, despite being the 12th largest coffee producer in the world.

While regions like Neuva Segovia produce excellent coffees, Jinotega and Matagalpa still produce the majority of the country’s coffee. And production from these 2 areas is usually not to the same level as in Nueva Segovia.

Nicaraguan coffee can be a bit of a hit-or-miss. From experience, the good coffees will have a delicate acidity, nice floral aromas, tea-like textures with hints of sweet confectionary at the end. The bad ones, however, tend to have a strange acidity that is hard to tame when brewing.

In contrast, neighboring origins (Honduras, El Salvador, etc.) would be less temperamental to brew – even with lower grade coffees.

Brewing Tips

Since most Nicaraguan coffees are quite high in acidity, you’d want to balance it out with the brewer, water temperature, and brew ratio.

For pour overs, try using a flat bottom dripper for a more balanced cup. Drippers like the Kalita Wave, Origami (using a wave filter), and the Blue Bottle would be good options.

Try a 1 : 16 ratio when brewing a pour over. You can use a 1 : 15 ratio for immersion brews like the French Press or the Aeropress.

Acidity extracts in the early stages of a brew, while sweetness extracts towards the end. Extending the ratio helps balance out the acidity since extending the extraction will help introduce more sweetness.

Higher water temperatures also help bring more sweetness. Temperatures between 94°C (202°F) to 98°C (208°F) would work well for these coffees.

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