Nicaragua "Selva Negra Estate"

Roast Profile : Medium dark
Flavor Profile: The cup is full bodied, slightly acidic with notes of citrus and chocolate.
Makes a great cup of coffee and an excellent single origin espresso.
Certification: organic, shade grown, Rainforest Alliance Certified, direct trade

This organic, shade grown and Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee is grown in the highlands of Matagalpa, at around 4, 000 feet. The Selva Negra Cloud Forest Reserve is a vast 1500 acres owned and protected by Eddie and Mausi Kuhl, who are both descendants of the original German settlers who arrived in Nicaragua back in the 1890's. Inside of the reserve is the well-maintained Selva Negra Estate and La Hammonia Coffee Farm.

The name ‘Selva Negra’ is Spanish for ‘Black Forest’ and is a fitting description of the foliage that grows in abundance around the farm. On the reserve is a resort and youth hostel used for tourism and educational purposes, an organic coffee farm, a vegetable and dairy farm, and a sort of self-sustaining "hammonia" which is Spanish for Hamburg.

More than 600 staff members are employed by the reserve and approximately 400 live on the estate. Employees are well provided for and are able to enjoy free housing, education for both adults and children, and basic medical care. Most of these workers are employed to help in the harvest of the coffee, while others work the cattle and various farms, and some who work as rangers patrolling and protecting the surrounding reserve.

The Selva Negra Estate is a perfect example of sustainability! Everything needed to run the farm is produced on the farm – from the plants which are grown in manure and compost made from farm waste-products to the bio gas used to cook.

View from the Selva Negra Estate, a guest cottage, shade grown coffee