Episode 355 on Monday the 31st of August, 2015. Nicaragua Finca La Escondida Washed Catua.

Finca La Escondida is close to Lake Apanas, near the town of Jinotega. The straight translation from Spanish to English of 'escondida' is ‘hidden’. The farm is named because it is 'hidden' from the road by forest and trees, which makes it appear to blend right into the side of the mountain. It is a young farm: the first trees were planted there in 2006. La Escondida is planned around identifying the plots with individually different micro-environments resulting from factors such as soil quality, sun exposure and temperature range. This is one of the upsides of starting to plant a new farm.

This is the Catuai varietal, which you don't see so much in specialty coffee. The varietal was selected for this farm because it was thought it would do very well with the identified soil quality, sun exposure, temperature range and weather conditions in particular, given the farm's quite exposed on the side of the mountain.

Catuai is related to Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, and it's a hybrid that grows best at 800 metres above sea level. It is mostly prevalent in Brazil and central / South America. This is a dwarf variety of plant; it doesn't grow very high, and this is its most obvious distinguishing trait. Selected by the instituto Agronomico in the 1950s–1960s, it now accounts for 50% of the coffee acreage in Brazil and is widely used in Central America. It also benefits from the fruit not falling off the branch easily, which helps when there are strong winds or rain, or where wind breaker coverage is at a minimum like it is here.

Some of the downsides of starting a brand new farm can be that it may take a while for the quality of the cup profile to build up, it might take time to have the right facilities for processing and picking, and it might take time to train the staff for picking and processing. Not to mention that it might take a while to achieve the yield to go with it all. But this farm, for me, has hit the whole group of requirements running. As a result of their experience in the area, the Mierisch family have built a new mill with a huge investment, and they use some of the people already in place in the neighbouring 'San Jose' to blend together an Escondida team comprising experienced and new members.

I love this coffee for being so different to the others we have brought in. It's super clean, very zesty andzingy, with hints of raspberry and lime; but it also has a lovely body of caramel that sits on the palate for an age, and a delicious and long-lingering aftertaste.

• Country: Nicaragua
• Municipality: Lipululo
• Departament: Jinotega
• Farm: La Escondida
• Farm Manager: Boanerje Martinez Montenegro
• Coffee Area: 92 Manzanas
• Protected Area: 3 Manzanas
• Elevation: 975 - 1,230 m.a.s.l.
• Harvest Months: December-March
• Diurnal Temperature Cycle: Avg-High 27C, Low 16C
• Coffee Varieties: Bourbon, Java, Caturra, Catuai & Laurina
• Processing Type: Dry Fermented then Washed