Nicaragua Fito Montiel Pacamara Semi Washed

About Nicaragua Fito Montiel Pacamara Semi Washed

Jose Arnulfo, known as Fito Montiel, is an award-winning producer who was one of the first to plant Pacamara at Finca La Hondurita, where he has cared for the farm since 1997. The history of the farm goes back to 1970, when Jose’s father first started growing coffee there. During El Salvador’s civil war, the Montiel family left the farm and moved to Agua Caliente. After the civil unrest ended, Jose and his family returned to La Hondurita and began rebuilding the farm, replanting coffee, pruning the shade trees and restoring the property.

Jose has received recognition in several competitions. He placed third in the Cup of Excellence in 2006 and fourth in 2007. In 2007, he also received a silver medal from the French Agency for Agricultural Product Assessment (AVPA) in the Washed Arabica Coffee category. More recently, a competition prize helped Jose pay off some debts and he plans to put this year’s prize money toward the farm and his family.

The coffee is produced with a hands on approach, with Jose involved throughout the process from harvest to drying. The coffee is processed on the farm, at the Finca La Hondurita Mill, where the cherries are depulped with an artisan depulper right after harvest. This is a semi-washed coffee, what is called honey coffee elsewhere, and fermentation takes only about eight hours because some of the mucilage has been removed by the de-mucilage machine.  This is followed by seven to eight days of sun drying on patios. Jose uses clean water during processing and sedimentation tanks to help prevent contamination of nearby water sources.

Jose was one of the first producers in the area to plant Pacamara in Nicaragua, first planting it in 2000 in the La Hondurita community. He is now working to add another 1.4 hectares of Pacamara to the farm and continues to make reinvesting in La Hondurita a priority.

Jose feels that the microclimate at La Hondurita, along with the care taken from picking through drying, plays an important part in the coffee. He is involved in the day-to-day work on the farm and also pays an additional wage during picking to support and reward his workers. The farm has 7.7 hectares of natural forest and Jose has prohibited hunting on the property to help protect the wildlife in the area. The farm is substantially shaded by guachipilin, guamo, liquidambar, pine, oak, encino, matazano and other native trees, with bananas and avocados also grown on the property.

Jose hopes to see La Hondurita become a recognized name in the specialty coffee market. As a second-generation coffee grower himself, he is also mentoring his son, Jose, who represents the next generation of the family farm. For now, he continues to focus on expanding Pacamara production, reinvesting in the farm and improving La Hondurita for the future.

• Country: Nicaragua
• Farm: Finca La Hondurita
• Producer: Fito Montiel (Jose Arnulfo)
• Region: La Hondurita
• Municipality: Chalatenango
• Altitude: 1,550-1,700 meters
• Varietal: Pacamara
• Process: Semi Washed (Honey)
• Harvest Season: December-March

Cup Characteristics:  Aromas of molasses, dark chocolate and chestnut. Flavors of strawberry, cherry cola, tamarind. Balanced, hearty and cleanly processed, the coffee is overall sweet with mild fruit flavors. 

Roasting Notes: This coffee is very sweet with cherry cola notes and would be best in a medium roast, with development time of roughly 15%.  It is feasible to roast it a little further to increase body, albeit at the expense of brightness.  Let the coffee get fully past first crack, and if your roaster allows it, kick the heat down to nearly zero once first crack gets going and allow the coffee to slowly develop.