Las Flores

Las Flores is a tiny farm in the far north of the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua near the Jinotega border, owned and operated by the Reyes brothers. The farm produces the Maragogype variety, almost exclusively. Maragogype is a mutation of the Typica variety of Arabica coffee. The mutation is unique in that it is terminal — meaning it did not continue to evolve further into new varieties with the exception of manmade cultivars using Maragogype stock. As you can see, Maragogype’s definitive characteristic is its size, sometimes two to three times the size of other coffee varieties. Maragogype is also far less dense which makes it a challenging coffee to roast. It also means that moisture content is lost far more quickly, meaning the coffee must be harvested, processed, and roasted as quickly as possible for maximum flavor quality. The Las Flores Maragogype is processed using the Washed Process and dried on raised beds at the farm.

We have been sourcing this coffee for 7 years now. This year’s harvest is my favorite to date. It has taken us years to understand how to best present this coffee, and the first batch out of the roaster this year felt like a triumph. It is sweet and clean, with a medium body, and citrus acidity. It is complex and comforting with notes of Dark Honey, Clementine, Macadamia Nut.