Nicaragua
It was in 1795 that Arabica coffee was first introduced to Nicaragua. Still, it was a rocky start hindered further by earthquakes and hurricanes, as well as civil wars within the country and U.S bans on imports during the cold war. It was not until the late 20th century that the Nicaraguan coffee industry thrived and was able to stand on its own feet, supporting nearly 300 000 workers, and all thanks to its coffee farmers that persisted throughout the disruptions.
Almost 95% of the coffee grown in Nicaragua is high altitude shade-grown. Growing coffee on altitudes between 3600 and 5200 feet above sea level helps it meet the Strictly High Grown coffee specifications, along with a fertile volcanic soil and a favoring climate. Some of the best Arabica coffee varietals are grown in Nicaragua, such as Bourbon, Typica, Catimor, Caturra etc. Many farms are located amongst wild forest and coffee is often grown under the protection of shade trees.
Blog posts
Every year, millions of hectares of forest are cleared to make way for agriculture. To address this, the EU has passed new rules to ensure that several major commodities, including coffee, can only...
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Under the Canopy: Shade, Sun and Why Context Matters in Coffee
There is no single right way to grow coffee. The right approach depends on climate, variety, management and, crucially, the livelihoods of the people who run the farm. Labels like “shade-grown” can...
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10 Questions you've always wanted to ask a Coffee Roaster
We teamed up with Ante Bikic, our Head Roaster at Amokka since 2019, to ask him some of the most common questions we get about coffee. With a calm, technical focus, he draws on nearly 20 years of e...
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