Finca (Farm) El Suspiro is owned by the Mierisch family, a name you might recognise if you’ve been drinking Sample Coffee for a while.

El Suspiro is the smallest farm owned by the Mierisch family. Located in the well-known coffee region of Matagalpa.

Bourbon (but not the booze)

This is the bourbon varietal of coffee, which along with caturra is one of the most commonly seen varietals of arabica coffee.

Thought to originate on the Island of Bourbon (now Réunion Island) off Madagascar, bourbon grew out of mutations of Ethiopian and Yemeni arabica plants.

These plants were then further cultivated in Brazil, before they were transported back to East Africa. Bourbon is now often associated with Rwanda and Burundi coffee production.

The video below tells the entertaining journey of how bourbon came to be, from James Hoffman’s talk last year at the UK Barista Championships.

If you haven’t already picked up a copy of his book The World Atlas of Coffee, trust us when we say it’s worth your time. James is managing director of the UK roaster Square Mile, a former world barista champion and also blogs and tweets his thoughts on coffee.

The Mierisch family

The Mierisch family has been involved in coffee since 1908, but over the last 15 years they’ve made a large increase in the number of microlots on their farms.

With investment in new cultivars, techniques, processing, and employee training, the family has proven that hard work and dedication get results. They have been Cup of Excellence winners several times and have also attained a solid reputation as socially and environmentally responsible farmers.

Maria Ligia Mierisch, one of the four siblings, started getting more actively involved in the management of this farm in recent years.

All the images and information about this coffee and its producers have been kindly shared by the importer, Silo/Nordic Approach, and edited by us, Sample Coffee (unless linked to or credited otherwise).

Resting beans inside the sealed bag helps develop peak flavours and acidity

Learn how long and why you should wait in our brewing window recommendations.

Try our step-by-step recipes and videos

Our recipes are easy to follow and designed to bring the best out of our coffee. Find your favourite method on our brew guides collection or test a new one—and if you have any questions, ask us anytime at [email protected].