Nicaragua: Finca Aurora

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Details

COFFEE GRADE: Natural

FARM / COOP / STATION: Finca Aurora

VARIETAL: Catuaí, Caturra

PROCESSING: Natural

ALTITUDE: 1.200 to 1.400 metres above sea level

OWNER: Dr. Enrique Ferrufinoo

REGION: Matagalpa

HARVEST MONTHS: December – March

Sensorial: Honey White Chocolate Pear Starfruit

About this coffee

Dr. Enrique Ferrufino, a surgeon by trade, was born and raised in a coffee farm in the mountains of Matagalpa in 1956 Together with his wife Silvia, a pediatrician, the Ferrufino family decided to go into the coffee business in 1992 and acquired Finca Aurora in 2004. They inspired the love for coffee in their three children from a very early age. Since they acquired Finca Aurora, the whole family has worked together to produce great coffee.

One of the core values of the business is to inspire people through coffee. Throughout the years they have invested in providing workers with fair wages, safe living conditions, health service, food and education. They also work with smaller producers in the area to help them improve their farming practices.

Cultivation

Preserving nature is a top priority for the Ferrufino family In their work they use a “biodynamic” model which means their farming is based on the local ecosystem. They only use renewable energy and work diligently conserving water resources and natural habitats. The farm houses a variety of native trees, home to many species of birds and wildlife. These trees also provide the plantation with shade and fertilize the soils with organic matter, which protects the land from erosion, droughts and floods.

Harvest and post-harvest

After selected hand-picking, cherries are laid to dry on raised beds or courtyards. Finca Aurora is one of the first firms in Nicaragua with a fully integrated coffee operation on-site. They produce, wash and dry the coffee at the farm. The coffee is then ground, sorted and bagged at Beneficio Finca Aurora under the watchful eye of the farm’s team. This allows full control over the quality throughout the process.

Caffè in Nicaragua

Nicaragua may not be the most famous producer of Central American coffee, but it has great potential. The country is known as the land of “los lagos y los volcanes” (lakes and volcanoes) and has many unknown and unheard of specialty coffee plantations. Many producers in the country are experimenting with new varieties and processing methods, making it a specialty origin to watch.

Many coffee producers in Nicaragua today are buoyed by cooperatives that provide a wide array of services, support and opportunity. As seen in the victory of “El Acuerdo de las Tunas”, where 3.000 landless workers won land rights, collective action by farmers can be far more effective at enacting widespread change than the advocacy of individual farmers.

Cooperatives and farmer associations in Nicaragua encompass a large percentage of the country’s coffee producers, and they are taking their destiny in their own hands. By putting great emphasis on quality and by aiming at the international specialty coffee industry, cooperatives and farmer associations are helping their members gain influence that will, hopefully, garner enough profit to enable farmers to continue to improve and invest in their farms and their families.

Large and medium-sized farms (10+ hectares) also hold a significant place in Nicaragua’s coffee landscape. Many of these farms have also given priority to social and environmental issues and are working on quality improvement at both cultivation and post-harvest levels.

Most farmers process coffee on their own farms and the majority of the time coffee is dried on large terraces under the sun.