Nicaragua Fincas Mierisch

Producer Alejandro Saldaña and Maria Ligia Mierisch - Fincas Mierisch
Farm El Suspiro
Municipality El Arenal
Department Matagalpa
Country Nicaragua

Sun Exposure Cloud Forest with dense fog
Farm Size 35 Hectares
Altitude 1400 masl
Latitude 13.019606
Longitude -85.909114

Variety Orange Bourbon
Process Washed
Fermentation 36hr Dry
Drying 15 days; 2 in full sun, 13 shaded raised beds

Harvest Year 2024

Flavor Brown Sugar, Tangerine, Dried Apricot
Descriptors Sweet, Creamy, Balanced

About this coffee Alejandro Saldaña and Maria Ligia Mierisch own and operate El Suspiro – meaning The Whisper – along with management Fincas Mierisch. The farm is a magical place, located high up in the Cerro Arenal Nature Reserve, tucked in among the cloud forest where birds, butterflies, and flowers flourish around the many creeks running between the coffee bushes. As a result of the unique micro-climate found within the reserve, the coffee bushes receive ample rainfall yet must work hard to produce cherries due to the lack of sunlight from the constant fog – the results are dense, highly aromatic and sweet coffee cherries.

El Susipro and Orange Bourbon have become synonymous over the years after Alejandro introduced the seed stock to the farm in 2006 from it’s place of origin in El Salvador.

Ripe cherries are delivered to the Don Estaban mill operated by Fincas Mierisch, where they’re floated and sorted before being pulped and placed into fermentation tanks without water. Afterwards, the coffee cherries are then spread out on tarps in full sunlight for 2 days to prevent over fermentation and mold, before being transferred to raised beds inside a greenhouse. Here they undergo 11 days of drying under 75% shade to achieve a 12% humidity level, resulting in a total drying time of 13 days. Finally, the coffee is rested for another month as parchament to allow the humidity levels to homogenize before being milled.