Nicaragua

Nicaragua coffee is often underrated when compared to the varieties of coffee produced in other Latin American countries such as Colombia or Brazil. When it comes to coffee beans, Nicaragua offers some great varieties from areas such as Jinotega, Matagalpa and Segovia. The types of Nicaraguan coffee bean that are grown at the very highest altitudes (high altitudes being one of the most important factors in the taste of a coffee, along with mild climate and rich soil) are called SHG grade, meaning Strictly High Grown.

In 2001, coffee workers fell victim to the Nicaragua coffee crisis; as overall coffee prices plummeted all around the world many of the workers in Nicaragua fell into deep poverty. The coffee crisis in Nicaragua has been corrected over the years since as the price of coffee worldwide and the export of Nicaragua coffee burlap has climbed back up to previous levels, but for a time there were many Nicaragua coffee plantations for sale on the cheap. Better than usual prices might still be had for some Nicaragua coffee plantations though the market has been largely corrected.

As far as the taste of coffee from Nicaragua is concerned, it tends to be bright and have deep flavor with good aromatics and a strong aftertaste. Like other coffee varieties from Latin American countries it does not have much body but tends to be a light easy coffee to drink with a mild level of intensity. Of course there is variation from area to area, but sometimes regional types of coffee from Nicaragua such as Segovia can outperform the more expensive coffee flavors from Colombia depending on the year. One of the best known brands of coffee from Nicaragua today is Miraflor. Miraflor is located with a coop farm inside a natural preserve where they grow organic coffee that consistently have received very high marks from coffee drinkers around the world. This Miraflor brand of coffee from Nicaragua is one of the best organic coffees that can be found anywhere. In general, the flavor that you get on average from the types of coffee from Nicaragua is what is considered the classic coffee flavor, a very balanced taste. Be sure that you try some of the kinds of coffee from Nicaragua listed above to see if you can find some great new tastes of coffee for prices better than those you could get from expensive coffee producing countries like Colombia and Jamaica.