NICARAGUA AND VOLCANO SUBCULTURE
When you’re deep in whatever subculture you’re deep in, like specialty coffee for you and I, you tend to see the world through that lens. So when I was chatting to someone in a hostel many moons ago about her recent work trip to Nicaragua, My first thought was ‘oh! Another coffee kindred!’, assuming she was there on a green coffee buying trip. Because that’s what Nicaragua is known for! But no, she was a digital nomad who worked from her hostel in Nicaragua to surf its world renowned waves. Because that’s what Nicaragua is known for!
I did not know this. She did however know about Nicaragua’s specialty coffee scene because as it turns out, she was also a coffee kindred. Some people have more than one interest.
Do you know who doesn’t know that Nicaragua is famous for coffee? Almost everybody else. Most people know it for its lakes and volcanoes – it has 19 of the latter and two big ones of the former. Most theories of the etymology of Nicaragua involve references to these lakes, one being that the country was named after the chieftain Nicaro, a powerful indigenous leader, combined with the word agua. This theory has been somewhat debunked as the chieftain’s name was probably not Nicaro at all and was actually named Macuilmiquiztli, which means ‘five deaths’ in the Nahuatl language. Which would have been a more difficult name to pronounce, but does have more personality.
It’s also known for having the second largest rainforest in the Americas, the festival San Jeronimo – an 80 day celebration of Saint Jerome, the patron saint of libraries, a corrupt government, being the largest and poorest country in Central America, and having a ban on all drones and most binoculars. Some of these facts may be connected.
But where we coffee subculturalists can feel a bit smug and superior to the rest of the population with their generalist knowledge of Nicaragua, is that we know their celebrated volcanoes do much more for Nicaragua that just look really pretty with a touch of danger. Don’t we?
Because where there be volcanoes, there be treasure. In the form of black gold. Called andisols. That is, soil rich in micronutrients, elements such as magnesium and potassium, and high volcanic ash content. Volcanic ash is porous and is a sponge soaking up water and keeping the soil moist and fertile. It’s the most wholesome, nurturing and nourishing home you could imagine for raising a brood of coffee plants into well-adjusted, thriving cherries.
We know that coffee is Nicaragua’s main agricultural export, however it has a history of corrupt and inept government practices, and much of the rainforest and other natural resources have been exploited. However in recent times, various laws and programmes have been put in place to utilise Nicaragua’s renewable geothermal energy sources and reforest logged areas.
Mario Gonzalez and his son-in-law Jairo are advocates of sustainable farming practices. And under their expertise, they’ve crafted a sensational coffee which, lo and behold, we have on our shelves right now. Their farm Los Suyates, near El Volcun (where else?), is 1450-1700 masl, and thrives amongst all that volcanic soil. It’s been supernatural processed (read more about that here), and tastes of grilled pineapple and cherry ripe.
Exceptional coffee from expert producers from a somewhat esoteric country. You’ll love it.
FURTHER READING
https://www.blackmarkettraining.com/regenerative-agriculture-in-coffee-farming/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Nicaragua/Transportation-and-telecommunications
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua#Government
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