Fincas Mierisch Laurina Natural (Low-Caf) - Nicaragua
250g
Region: Jinotega
Flavour notes: pear, honey, pistachio
Variety: Laurina
Altitude: 1200m
The Mierisch family has been producing coffee for more than 110 years, making them one of the oldest coffee farming families in Nicaragua. For the past 5 generations, the family has been both innovating and steadily improving the efficiency of their systems, which has allowed them to design special farming techniques at scale with precision lot traceability and to grow and process world renowned, rare coffee varieties with both distinctive and exceptional processing methods.
The Mierisch family has several farms, producing their coffees across 11 fincas in Nicaragua and 3 in Honduras. Their coffees are renowned around the world; from their lauded Los Favoritos Auction and winning 1st place twice in a row at the Cup or Excellence in Honduras is not only a testament to their dedication, but also to the hard work and understanding of the importance of striving for quality at every step.
Located in the department of Jinotega, you will find Finca La Escondida nestled at the base of a mountain. This farm is home to the ‘varietal garden’ of the Mierisch family, where they test out new varieties before deciding if they are worth planting on one of their farms. This specific Laurina plot is called Ojo de Agua and it is the only plot that is irrigated due to its close proximity to a river. This helps to speed up the flowering stage, thus leading to an earlier harvest, making this Laurina one of the first varieties to be picked in each season.
Laurina is a rare, low-caffeine variety of Arabica coffee that has its origins on Réunion, near Madagascar. This coffee, which has only ⅓ of the caffeine of regular Arabica coffee, which gives the coffee its sweet taste (caffeine having a bitter taste). It is also known as Bourbon Pointu, so named for both its island of birth (the island of Réunion was formerly called Bourbon) and the elongated and pointed shape of the coffee. In nature, caffeine essentially acts as a coffee plant's inherent insecticide. So as Laurina has less caffeine, it makes it more challenging to grow and harvest, leading to the variety’s scarcity and well merited fanaticism.
The Fermentation Process: Natural