Nicaragua Finca El Pastoral Natural Organic

This delightful coffee is the natural processed version of our Finca el Pastoral Organic. Unlike it's fully washed version, it's complex, twisty and bursting with earthy flavors. We picked out notes of strawberry, pineapple and milk chocolate.

Arrival Date: November 20th, 2020

Acidity & Brightness: Bright acidity, very sweet

Balance & Finish: Complex and twisty with a lingering earthy finish

Body & Texture: Full bodied and silky

Flavors: Strawberry, pineapple and milk chocolate

Grade:  Strictly High Grown (highest), grown at 1100 to 1460 masl

Certifications: Organic

Processing: Natural

Varietals: Catuai and Parainema

Roasting: Since this is a natural processed coffee, we like it just a touch lighter than usual. Start at City plus or at the end of first crack for a light-medium roast, which is right where we like it. Feel free to explore darker but we'd avoid anything more than a few seconds into second crack. If you're comparing this coffee to it's washed version, roast them both at full medium or right up to the edge of second crack for equal comparison!

Reminder: This coffee is raw, you must roast it before grinding and brewing

Our Review: What’s the best way to support coffee producers? This is exactly the question Juan de Dios Castillo (the family’s agronomist) and his 4 siblings were looking to answer when they created J&M Family Coffee, a privately-owned export company named after their parents Juan and Miriam (J&M). Their first goal was to sell their parents’ coffee directly to international buyers. It was a way to honor their parents who started cultivating coffee during their childhood with the income from the first family business as tailors in the town of Jinotega. With this first goal completed, Juan de Dios Castillo decided to take the next step and start his own farm called El Pastoral, which has 150 acres of coffee production. During the harvest, the coffee cherries are carefully harvested, sorted and then depulped, fermented, washed and pre-dried at the farm. The partially dried coffee is taken to a nearby location where drying is completed and the coffee is stored and later prepared for export. This is a truly integrated model, in which J&M Family Coffee ensures quality control and traceability from farm to export.

How cool is it that we got a fully washed and natural processed coffee from the same estate?! Try this coffee side by side with the washed version to see what a difference processing makes. This natural version is much more complex and twisty than the washed version, as is expected. It's got a bright front end with notes of strawberry, raspberry, pineapple and milk chocolate. This version also has what we would characterize as a silky texture compared to the washed version's creamy texture. Expect a touch less body as well along with a lingering earthy finish. Fans of natural processed Ethiopian coffees will really appreciate this one!