Nicaragua - Dos Marias Honey Venecia

Approximately the size, 1 ½ times the population, 55 times national/state GDP and 4% per capital GDP of Louisiana, Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras to the north, Costa Rica to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The eastern Caribbean coast, when combined with that of Honduras, is known as the “Mosquito Coast”, a transliteration from the indigenous “Miskito” Nation which once held reign over this area.  The area history here is rich having been a haven for privateers, a British protectorate, a source of corporate intrigue involving fruit production, and a cultural melting pot of aboriginal, Spanish and shipwrecked African slaves.

Since Columbus’ 4th New World voyage discovery in 1502, Nicaragua’s linear history, first involving Europeans followed by the United States, has been rife with conflict and intrigue. Nicaragua’s etymology, coined by Spanish colonist, is a combination of Nicarao, an indigenous tribal “cacique” or chieftain, and “agua”, Spanish for “water, inspired by the countries two large lakes. After Columbus’ initial 1502 discovery, the Spanish returned in 1523 and colonized the country until 1821. Starting 1655, the British proclaimed the “Mosquito Coast”, which includes the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coastline, a protectorate until relinquishing control in 1894. From 1821-1909, Nicaragua definitively became independent in 1838 after being part of the short-lived 1st Mexican Empire from 1821-23 and a longer stent in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823-38. From 1909-33, the United States occupied Nicaragua as part of the “Banana Wars”, a series of United States occupations, police actions and interventions in Central America and the Caribbean, with an overarching strategic driver being the possible location of the “Nicaragua Canal” connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans which, of course, was redirected to Panama. From 1937-79, Nicaragua was ruled, after a United States engineered exchange of power, by the hereditary Somoza family dictatorship. In response to this engineered power coup, the “Marxist” Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was formed which forceable took power in 1979. In response to the FSLN, a collective group of right-wing rebels labeled the “Contras”, transliterated from the Spanish la contrarrevolucion or counter-revolution and supported by the United States, formed to disrupt social projects of the FSLN.  The result was a controversial war with nothing changing except the tragedy of 30,000 deaths and atrocities by both FSLN and Contras. Since 1984 a series of corrupt and sham elections have followed. Nicaragua’s negligible per capital GDP gives rank as the 2nd poorest Western Hemispheric country (U.S. State Department September 2022) and is at the crux of a country rife with corruption which is currently highlighted by Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian government after being reelected four times since 2006 due to rampant voter fraud and intimidation.

Yet, amid what seems such tragedy, is this beautiful country of lakes, coastline and terrestrial wonder earning the accolade “the land of lakes and volcanoes”. The Bosawas tropical rainforest located in the coffee region of Jinotega, with its 200,000 insect species,1000’s of vascular plant species and 700 bird species, is designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve and the 2nd largest rainforest only being surpassed by the Amazon. With 40 volcanoes, many of which are active, Nicaragua hosts most of the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA), a chain of volcanoes extending parallel to the Pacific coastline from Mexico to Panama. Lake Managua and Nicaragua are the two largest freshwater lakes in Central America. Due to such diversity and beauty, tourism ranks the 2nd largest industry and has become an effective engine to thwart poverty. Among the loveliest parcel is northern Nicaragua where our gem of a coffee is cultivated. The Pan-American Highway, a 19,000 motorable route from Alaska to Chile, snakes down the western reaches of Nicaragua along the western edge of Lago Cocibolca, translated “Sweet Sea”, sometimes called Lake Nicaragua, until entering Costa Rica. At mile marker 6400 of the highway, we cross from Honduras entering northern Nicaragua and continue south 40 miles to the city of Contega where we take a left eastward 13 miles to Venecia located in the heart of Nicaragua’s coffee terroir.

Jionotega,130 miles north of the capital Managua and one of the three Nicaraguan coffee regions, is where we find Finca Las Dos Marias, a small family farm where at 4430 feet our coffee is grown, hand-picked, milled and processed. The coffee is grown on small micro-lots where, although extremely challenging, no pesticides or artificial chemicals are used resulting in a high-quality bean. An important distinction considering Nicaragua produces large volumes of wet-processed coffees in a system built for expedience and speed making coffee quality a mixed bag… selectivity is the watch word. Our coffee uses a honey process, involving partial removal of the coffee cherry outer portion while maintaining the fruit pulp, with the beans meticulously dried and turned resulting in a sweet, honey-like flavor in the final brew.  Our delicious cup will resonate with dark chocolate, clove and orange in addition to sweet notes of maple and molasses. This is a solid brew that satisfies time and again… morning after morning.

Process Honey…  partial removal of the coffee cherry outer portion while maintaining the fruit pulp with the beans meticulously dried and turned

Elevation: 4430 feet