Finca La Escondida
Dr. Erwin Mierisch
Yasica Norte, Matagalpa, Nicaragua

Every once in a while, a coffee comes along that really turns your head. The Perla Negra from Finca La Escondida was one of those coffees.

A couple of years ago, while we were cupping coffee lots from the various Mierisch Family farms, Eleane decided to slip in a couple of experimental lots - just to see what kind of reaction they would receive. These experimental coffees were from their La Escondido farm in nearby Jinotega and had undergone a very different type of processing at Beneficio Esteban.

This new processing method took the de-pulped coffee and placed it under an anaerobic fermentation which converted the malic acid in the coffee into lactic acid. The results were nothing short of remarkable - although it depended on your personal tastes as to whether that "remarkable" was a positive or negative characteristic. 

The first sample came off with strong notes of blue cheese. Sharp, buttery, pungent - just as a blue cheese should. However, blue cheese in coffee is not the ideal cup for a lot of people and some of the coffee buyers in my group did not find it appealing. Personally, I thought it was just crazy. Something completely different. I would have liked to offer that just so that our guests could try something completely out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, a certain red-headed coffee buyer from central United Kingdom swept that out from under me (looking at you, Stephen Leighton!).

While the first sample was just outrageously crazy and something only the truly adventurous would drink, it was the second sample that really caught my attention. With lingering milky sweet notes, I wondered how it would fare as it cooled. Over the next hour, I kept going back to the sample to see how it performed. Would it improve? Would it change? Would it maintain it's milky sweet character? If it did, I knew exactly where we would use this coffee.

When it had cooled completely, the complexity remained and the lovely milk and sugar notes also remained. It was as I had hoped: a black coffee with the characteristics of a coffee with milk and sugar. I knew then that it would make for a fantastic iced coffee. I bought everything I could.

For this year, we decided to pre-order the coffee and have it produced and processed expressly for Spro. The 2016 Perla Negra maintains its' lovely milky sweet characteristics and makes for a fine brewed hot cup of coffee, though its forte still lies in the cold realm.

In the cup, it's bold without being forceful. We take it to a nice medium plus roast and drop it right before second crack begins so it's cracking in the cooling tray. Look for chocolate notes, round smooth body, even sweetness and a cloying milky character.

2016 Finca La Escondida Perla Negra "Black Cappuccino"
Producer: Erwin Mierisch
Farm Manager: Boanerje Martinez Montenegro
Region: Lipululu, Jinotega, Nicaragua
Elevation: 975-1230 masl
Manzanas: 92
Harvest: February 2016
Style: Shade grown 
Processing: Perla Negra 
Varietal: Red Bourbon 
Certification: Utz Kapeh

2016 Finca La Escondida Perla Negra "Black Cappuccino"

Whole Bean - 10 ounces

Please Note: Our Sproastery works on a weekly roasting schedule to provide the freshest coffee possible. Currently, our roast day is on Tuesdays. Our coffees are roasted on Tuesday and shipped out by Wednesday for weekday delivery. Please place your orders by midnight Monday night so that we can accommodate your order in our production schedule.  Thank you.