FINCA
libre
SINGLE FARM
〰️
SINGLE FARM 〰️
Producer Pil Hoon Sue
Farm Finca Libre
Region Dipilto
Altitude 1400 – 1700 masl
Process Carbonic Maceration Natural
Species Arabica
Variety(ies) Lot A: Gesha
Lot B: Catuai
Lot C: SL28, SL34
Harvest February to April
FINCA LIBRE
Finca Libre is a medium-size farm of 55 hectares farm located in the municipality of Pinabete. It culminates at the top of the Mozonte mountains above 1600m, which, in the context of Nicaragua, is a considerably high altitude. The coffee occupies 30ha of the 55ha. The remaining 25 ha are kept as a preserved forest.
Its owner, Pil Hoon Sue, is originally from South Korea where he owns a coffee roastery. He first visited Nicaragua 15 years ago and fell in love with the country, which has now become his second home. He bought Finca Libre in 2015, when it was still called Cerro del Cielo and only produced catuai. Pil renamed the farm “Finca Libre” in a spirit of freedom and sharing. He strives to restore the plantation plot by plot only planting genetically traceable varieties, which he shares with other producers in the region. This free sharing of seeds has allowed several “less connected” producers to plant and produce high quality lots, to participate in competitions such as the CoE and significantly increase their income.
Each variety is separated by plot. The Geshas occupy 5 ha, the SL28 and SL34 extend over 6 ha - 3 ha each. The farm also produces pink bourbon on 0.5 ha, Ethiopian heirloom on 1,5ha and red catuai on 14ha.
When he is in Korea, the farm is managed by Edwin Zuniga, who is also a producer and has his own farm in the commune. Pil wants to give the workers good working conditions and will completely rebuild the house where the workers live. Edwing is in fact as much the producer of this lot as Pil. It is worth mentioning…
Finca Libre is partially shaded because at higher altitude like here, we need to make sure that enough sun can penetrate the plantation to allow the cherries to ripe properly and avoid diseases. The risk being that the cherries don’t have the proper time to develop and end up overflowing into the next harvest.
carbonic maceration
Borrowed from the world of wine, carbonic maceration allows coffee to develop more fruity notes and brings body, complexity and richness to the cup.
First, the cherries ferment in sealed barils placed in a temperature-controlled room (we want to maintain cool temperatures to avoid the development of unwanted bacteria).
The maceration produces Co2 and drives oxygen out of the baril. This environment allows the fermentation to take place inside bean. We talk about an inside-out fermentation. (As opposed to fermentation which takes place from the outside in when we add yeast or other external products to the coffee such as fruit, for example.)
This step extends over several days until a gelatinous and rich texture is obtained.
immediately out of the barils, the cherries are first placed on suspended beds inside the cold rooms to avoid the development further uncontrolled fermentation.
Once the cherries reach a lower humidity level, they finish drying on African beds outside.
Le Projet bridazul
Bridazul is a holistic project born in 2019 and created by Claudia Lovo and Tim Willems. It aims to support producers that desire to turn to the specialty market while taking action to reduce climate change impacts on the coffee production.
Claudia is Nicaraguan, and owner of El Arbol, the farm where the carbonic maceration was developed in the early 2010s. Tim is Belgian, worked in roasteries and coffee shops in Europe before falling in love with Nicaragua, and not only… Together, they founded Bridazul to share know-how across producers and give access to the necessary infrastructure to ferment and process specialty coffees. Bridazul is also a place where future of coffee in Nicaragua is often discussed.
Indeed, Nicaragua is one of the most affected countries by climate change, and coffee crops are among the ones that suffer the most. In a second plan, the project will aims to create a group of producers who transition towards complementary crops, therefore producing and depending less on coffee alone. This will also favor more diversity and incentive a more balanced way of doing agriculture.
Bridazul brings together around fifty producers with small and medium-sized farms (less than 10 hectares on average).
CUP PROFILE (PSS)
Gesha: Jasmin, stone fruits, passion fruit, bublegum. Very Soft fermentation notes.
SL28/SL34: Aromas: raw cacao, funky. Flavors: Clementine, cacao, red fruits jam, pineapple, sparkling.
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