Nicaragua San José – washed green coffee (1 kg)

Origin: Lipululo, Jinotega
Producer: Mierisch family, Finca San José
Altitude: 1 250-1 400 m
Varieties: Red Catuai
Process: Washed
Harvested: 2024/2025

In the mountain ranges around Jinotega, the heart of Nicaragua’s coffee production, lies Finca San José – one of the farms run by the Mierisch family, one of Central America’s most respected coffee dynasties with over a century of unbroken experience. The family has stewarded its heritage for generations with a combination of pride in craftsmanship, sustainable farming practices, and long-term working relationships with both pickers and washing station staff – work that shows in the cup as remarkable consistency, year after year. Lipululo is located at altitudes between 1,250 and 1,400 meters, in a microclimate with good shading, even rainfall and cool nights that give the berries a long and stable ripening period.

The lot consists exclusively of Red Catuai, a compact and productive variety that is a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra and that has proven in Central America to be particularly well adapted to classic wet processing. After selective hand-picking, the berries are pulped, fermented under controlled conditions, washed in channels and slowly dried – a methodology that produces a clean, transparent cup character without unnecessary friction with the fruitiness. The raw coffee has good density, even sorting and high roasting flexibility. It responds well to medium to dark roasts, making the lot unusually versatile: it works well for filter brewing and press pot, and in slightly darker roast profiles develops a silky, full-bodied espresso with a distinct creaminess.

In the cup, this is a soft and delicate coffee with a rich, creamy body. Milk chocolate and hazelnut form the backbone, surrounded by a smooth, vanilla-sweet aroma and a subtle floral top. In the background is cedar, a drier spiciness that adds structure and keeps the cup from becoming unidirectionally sweet. The finish is long and rounded, with a lasting milk chocolate nuance. A raw coffee for the home roaster looking for depth and smoothness in the same batch – and a cup that will be just as good in the pot in the morning as in the espresso machine after dinner.

This green coffee arrived at the roastery on June 24, 2025 and is from the 2024/2025 harvest.

The lot is aggressively priced because the raw coffee has been with us for a while – it is still fully harvestable, but we choose to activate the price so that more home roasters will have the chance to explore the Mierisch family’s craft.