Nicaragua
Mario Ortez

Mario started farming specialty coffee over 5 years ago, and hasn’t looked back. He’s focused on training his farmers to pick the ripest coffee cherries for the best quality cup. Their coffee has notes of hops, pear, honey, and vanilla.

Washed process Caturra

Flavour: hops, pear, honey, vanilla

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

From the age of 8, Mario helped his father on the family farm, doing whatever he could until he was 15. At that point, the area where the farm was located became part of the war zone, and the entire family had to flee. In 1991, after things had calmed down somewhat, Mario managed to return to the farm and restart coffee production.

Mario recalls that when they first resumed farming, the area had very poor access roads, and the coffee had to be transported on horseback for 8 kilometers to reach the nearest point where a vehicle could access it. A new road was under construction, but despite significant delays, it was finally completed in October 1998. That same month, Hurricane Mitch struck northern Nicaragua and destroyed the newly built road. Mario dryly remembers that after just one week of using the new road, they had to return to transporting coffee by horse again. Fortunately, the reconstruction of the road was not delayed, and by the following harvest, it was back in operation.

Mario began producing specialty coffee five years ago and hasn’t looked back. He employs up to 40 workers during the harvest to help pick the cherries. The biggest change for him has been training his workers to selectively pick only the ripe cherries.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: Mario Ortez
Farm/Coop: Finca San Martin
Country: Nicaragua
Region: San Fernando
Altitude: 1400m above sea level
Variety: Caturra
Process: washed
Harvested: April 2024
Importer: Caravela
Body
Acidity
Tasting notes: Hops, pear, honey, vanilla
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Caturra variety

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon that was originally discovered in Brazil in 1937, considered to be the first naturally occurring mutation ever discovered.

The location

Coffee from Nicaragua

The true potential of Nicaraguan coffee has been hindered by a long history of political instability and natural disaster, however successful programs such as the Cup of Excellence competition and the Nicaraguan Specialty Coffee Association have helped drive the potential of Nicaraguan coffee into real quality production

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.