Origin of the Month

 

Meet the People Behind Your Cup

Before 2009, many Nicaraguan coffee farmers belonged to small local cooperatives. That year, community leaders approached a woman named Kenia Ubeda, herself a coffee farmer and agronomist, and asked her to help form and run a union that would
bring several of those smaller cooperatives together and give them a stronger position in Nicaragua’s specialty coffee industry.

Kenia agreed, although she encountered some serious resistance as a woman leading an organization made up largely of male coffee farmers. From that effort, UCCEI Cooperative — Unión de Cooperativas de Cafés Especiales Cordillera Isabelia — was
born. Today, UCCEI includes more than 900 smallholder coffee farmers, representing nearly 5,000 family members. It is what is known as a second-tier cooperative, which simply means it is a cooperative made up of other cooperatives.

This is important, because UCCEI gives these smaller groups enough collective scale to process, finance, market, and export their coffee internationally. Together, hundreds of small farms can accomplish what would be extraordinarily difficult for a five- or ten-acre producer to do alone: maintain quality standards, secure certifications and financing, warehouse coffee, negotiate with buyers, assemble enough coffee for export, and ultimately get it from a remote farm in Nicaragua into a roaster’s hands.

Here is the most important part of the story: hundreds of independent family coffee farms figured out that scale matters. Six local cooperatives joined together and built an organization that gives their farmers access to financing, agronomic knowledge, processing infrastructure, and an international specialty market that none of those small farms could realistically build alone.

About This Coffee

This coffee was grown in the forested highlands of Matagalpa at roughly 3,600–4,400 feet above sea level. Matagalpa lies in Nicaragua’s north-central mountain region, where rugged terrain,
cooler temperatures, abundant rainfall, forest cover, and elevation have made coffee one of the defining crops.

Elevation matters. As you climb, temperatures become cooler, allowing coffee cherries to generally mature more slowly than they would in hotter lowlands. That longer maturation gives the seed inside the cherry more time to develop. And Matagalpa isn’t merely “near volcanoes.” The geology itself reflects ancient
volcanic activity, leaving coffee-growing areas with mineral-rich soils and substantial organic matter. The varietals in this lot matter too — and the combination of all three makes perfect sense.

Caturra is a naturally occurring dwarf mutation of Bourbon, first identified in Brazil in the early 20th century. Its smaller structure allows farmers to plant more trees in a given area, and it is known for good cup potential. Its weakness? It is highly susceptible to
coffee leaf rust. The logic: established cup quality and Bourbon genetics.

Next is Catuai, a compact varietal bred from Mundo Novo and Caturra. It offers good productivity and can also be planted densely, although it too is susceptible to coffee leaf rust. The logic: productivity and compact growth.

Finally, Catimor. Catimor is actually a family of related coffees rather than one single varietal. It comes from crosses between Caturra and lines descended from the Timor Hybrid. Because the Timor Hybrid contains Robusta genetics, it brought something
extremely valuable to coffee breeding: resistance to coffee leaf rust. The logic: resilience. So, growing together on these Nicaraguan mountainsides, you have quality, productivity, and resilience.

What to Expect in Your Cup

This coffee is just very enjoyable to drink. Its medium body gives it a satisfying, unmistakable coffee mouthfeel, while its bright
acidity adds complexity and keeps the finish clean and lively. Because this lot is washed, much of the fruit surrounding the coffee seed is removed before drying, allowing the character of the coffee itself — and the place where it was grown — to
come through clearly.

As you sip this one, look for notes of almond, cane sugar, black tea, and citrus. And if you want something alongside it? Try banana bread, dark chocolate, or citrus pound cake. You probably already have at least one of those in your kitchen.