It's important to understand that Nicaragua was the first coffee-producing country we visited, even before Right Side Coffee was founded, back in 2010. At that time, we visited the quintessential coffee region, Matagalpa. For the next trip, I wanted to focus on finding areas touched by the barite, where the best coffees in the country are grown: Nueva Segovia, located in the north.

Thanks to Alejandra Selva, a Nicaraguan friend, we ended up tasting coffee at the Beneficio de las Segovias laboratory, run by Luis Alberto Balladarez. At the time, I wasn't aware of how well I was treated and the opportunities I would have to learn about flavor development. We tasted coffees from different producers, mainly hybrid varieties (Marsellesa, H3, etc.), which were being planted as a solution to coffee rust problems (a fungus that attacks the plant's foliage, leaving it leafless and causing its death). In 2008, coffee rust had taken hold in high-altitude areas where it had never before experienced such a proliferation. We were surprised that Luis Alberto didn't use these varieties on his farms, instead focusing on plant nutrition combined with preventative fungicide applications, like many other producers with whom we would later collaborate.

To speak of Luis Alberto Balladarez is to speak of a true legend of specialty coffee. Dissatisfied in his early years working side-by-side with his family, he broke away to create Beneficio de Las Segovias. With farms in Dipilto, Mozonte, and Jalapa, we decided to focus our project in Mozonte, where the coffee profiles develop more intensely and with greater depth of flavor. Furthermore, we found mature varieties that would give us a perfect starting point: Red and Yellow Catuai, Caturra, Maracaturra, Pacamara, Java, and SL28. All on the same farm—coffee porn for us.

The first improvements we found were in the drying process. We saw that shade drying resulted in more complex, juicier, and more interesting flavors. The following harvest, we spent four days conducting controlled fermentation tests on washed and honey-processed coffees, as well as developing fine natural coffees that didn't develop too much of a fermented note (like jams or hard wines), aiming for more fruit and cleaner tones. After all this development, we realized we shared the same vision: a commitment to continuous improvement and meticulous coffee tasting leads to extraordinary results.

To continue with our Experience Subscriptions, we haven't found a better option than the Esperanza SL28 lot from producer Luis Alberto Balladarez . What makes it so special? This variety typically grows and develops in African countries, so a lot from Nicaragua makes it quite a rarity.

Our journeys to this origin have always focused on Mozonte, where the grapes develop a juicier profile and greater depth of flavor. The result is this unique batch with notes of blueberry, grape, and kiwi, which you can enjoy with your June subscription.