Nicaragua, La Venus

About This Coffee

Máximo inherited this 20-hectare farm in northwestern Nicaragua from his father. The farm produced grain, cattle, and commodity coffee. Máximo saw the potential in specialty coffee, so he began to focus on improving the farm's processing methods and investing in its infrastructure. Specialty coffee is now the main activity on the farm, and we think this Java lot is one of its best. The Java variety was originally discovered in 1928 by P. J. S. Cramer, a famous Dutch botanist. Cramer brought a selection of Arabica varieties from Ethiopia to Java Island. The descendants of those varieties were later taken to Cameroon and eventually ended up in Nicaragua. Finca La Venus is part of the Central American branch of Caravela’s PECA program. Every month, agronomists visit a selection of farms and teach growers how to increase their farm’s productivity and efficiency by reducing costs of production and increasing yields. They also encourage coffee growers to adopt more sustainable practices on their farms, such as planting shade trees, protecting and avoiding contamination of water sources, reducing the use of agro-chemicals and applying occupational health safety.