Nicaragua Fincas Mierisch

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

Sun Exposure Cloud Forest with dense fog
Farm Size 35ha; 15 farming, 20 rainforest
Altitude 1400 masl
Latitude 13.019606
Longitude -85.909114

Variety Orange Bourbon
Process Washed
Fermentation Submerged 48 hours in barrels
Drying 13 days on patios and shaded raised beds

Harvest Year 2023

Flavor Cane Sugar, Milk Chocolate, Berries, Yellow Fruits, Tangerine
Descriptors Well Structured, Balanced and Crisp Acidity

About this coffee El Suspiro – meaning The Whisper – 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 trees. The farm was purchased in 2005, originally for recreational purposes, until Erwin II encouraged his sister and her husband, Maria Ligia Mierisch and Alejandro Saldaña, to cultivate coffee. Of the 35ha, more than half is still dedicated to natural rainforest; protection of natural forests is intertwined with the operations of the Mierisch family farms.

Orange Bourbon is a natural mutation of the Red Bourbon varietal originally discovered in El Salvador. The plot that grows at El Suspiro came from superior seed stock and was planted by Alejandro in 2006 and now grows on a number of the other family farms.

Harvested cherries are taken to Beneficio Don Esteban, in Matagalpa, for processing, drying and milling. After the cherries are cleaned and sorted, the coffee is pulped and submerged in barrels for 48 hours. Afterwards, the coffee cherries are then spread out on patios under 100% sunlight for 2 days 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.

Our current roasting schedule is Monday through Wednesday and best enjoyed 14 days after roast date.