People
Finca Un Regalo de Dios (literally “A Gift from God”) is located in the Mozonte Municipality of Nueva Segovia, on the northern border of Nicaragua. In this region, some of the finest coffees are produced, such as those coming from Beneficio Las Segovias or this Finca. Out of curiosity, both are run by Luis Alberto Balladarez Moncada, a real inspirer and pursuer of specialty coffee.
Balladarez Family is keeper of coffee knowledge for three generations. Un Regalo de Dios is a farm from the Balledarez family behind Las Segovias Mill. This Finca sits at an altitude of 1350 – 1700 meters above sea level. Luis Alberto together with his family and his son manages the farm.
In total, the farm is 72 hectares, of which around 52ha are planted in coffee where Luis grows the following varieties: Red & Yellow Catuai, Pacamara, Maracaturra, Java, Bourbon, Catimore, and some Hybrids. The clouded forest around creates a micro-climate with temperatures ranging from 10 to 16 degrees Celsius.
Product
- NI22110 - Un Regalo de Dios - Luis Alberto Balladares - Pacamara - Natural (August '22)
- NI22109 - Un Regalo de Dios - Luis Alberto Balladares - Java - Natural (August '22)
- NI22108 - Un Regalo de Dios - Luis Alberto Balladares - Red Catuai - Natural (August '22)
- NI21015 - Un Regalo de Dios - Luis Alberto Balladares - Pacamara - Natural
- NI21016 - Un Regalo de Dios - Luis Alberto Balladares - Pacamara - Honey
- NI21017 - Un Regalo de Dios - Luis Alberto Balladares - Red Catuai - Natural
The secret of Luis Alberto to deliver excellent and consistent cups is the extreme care for the coffee processing. In other words, Luis Alberto is obsessed with coffee quality and with every detail in each step, from the harvest to the process into the dry mill to the cupping lab.
The main difference with the other farms are closed environment where to dry coffee, shade nets and quite low temperature. Luis Alberto and his staff have one main strategy: keeping as stable as possible the conditions of the coffee during its processing.
The honey processed coffee and naturals from this farm are dried from 25 to 35 days at about 30 degrees – natural coffees are dried with the coffee cherry on the beans, which provides a dense fruity flavor to the coffee bean.
Price
The Coffee Quest started the collaboration with Luis Alberto in 2018 and we are extremely happy to see it growing and strengthening over years. What excites us the most is seeing him reaching great success. For instance, Un Regalo de Dios is the winner of 5th place at The Nicaragua Cup of Excellence 2018 and since then they’ve been ranking high.
Planet
Finca Un Regalo de Dios is the gift you could never dare to waste. As a matter of fact, for Luis Alberto his farms are so precious that he really takes seriously quality control and environmental issue. During one of our last interviews carried out by our partner Stephen Levene, Luis did not think twice when talking about his main current challenge: climate change.
Facing maturation and fermentation difficulties caused by climate change is becoming more and more difficult. For this reason, he’s doing his part. Each coffee process is carefully monitored at this farm. They use indeed organic products as fertilizers and filters to avoid water or soil pollution after depulping.
Finca Un Regalo de Dios has a loose sandy soil, with abundant humus and has an annual rainfall of between 1,400 and 1,600mm. In addition, the farm has a rich biodiverse environment of fauna and flora, with an abundance of broad-leaved trees and conifer species. All of this together creates optimal coffee growing conditions.
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