Sept 2016: Nicaragua Carlos Lopez
Coffee of the Month
The September Coffee of the Month is a very unique tasting Nicaraguan. Right now we’re tasting creamy butterscotch, an orange finish, roasted almonds, a touch of dried fruit and it has been singing as an espresso in our cafes. Great Nicaraguan coffee was tough to source this year but our team on the ground managed to find a beauty!
We’re back with the family of Carlos Lopez on the La Esperanza farm in the Neuva Segovia region of Nicaragua. Two years ago we fell in love with their 5th place Cup Of Excellence Winner, the Fila Alta, and during our recent visit to Nicaragua serendipity brought us all together.
We had met Mr Carlos Lopez’ son previously when working on the Fila Alta, but we didn’t actually meet the man himself until February this year when Benjamin our Head Green Bean Buyer and Cass from Campos Newtown were in Ocotal, Nueva Segovia hunting coffees.
Nicaragua’s production was very low this year due to environmental factors, so finding a micro-lot of this quality was no walk in the park. Having our team on the ground at origin every day of the year really pays off, especially when you know farmers like Carlos.
When we see Carlos Lopez and his family doing all the right things for their farm, coffee and community to achieve great quality coffee we’re assured there will be even more brilliant opportunities on the horizon and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
Our Guest Taster
Julian Cincotta
Thievery & Butter, Head Master Chef
For our September Coffee of the Month we were excited to invite Julian Cincotta, a young Sydney chef with serious culinary
credentials. Julian has experience working in top restaurants like Neil Perry’s Rockpool and overseas at Charlie Trotters, Alinea and Blackbird in the US. After winning the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year 2015 from the Good Food Guide he went onto stints at Saturne (Paris), Lyles (London) and Bror (Copenhagen).
Julian said he would normally reach for a at white or a piccolo but was ready to jump into the world of cupping. He started hitting notes of almonds, dried fruit, low acidity and dark caramel – almost like caramelised sugar that’s begging for cream.
After the success of Thievery, Julian opened Butter, the world’s rst hybrid sneaker, fried chicken and champagne restaurant. Julian said, “we combined everything we love into a restaurant. I realised you don’t need to spend a million dollars on a restaurant, just have fun. Yes, be professional and serious, but have fun.” We couldn’t agree more!
The Coffee
Country Of Origin Nicaragua
Farmer Carlos Lopez
Region Neuva Segovia
Elevation 1500 – 1850m
Varietal Red catuai
Processing Washed micro-lot
The Cup
Acidity Low acidity
Flavours Almond, dark caramel, brown sugar, dark chocolate
Mouthfeel Creamy butterscotch
Aftertaste Long lasting