of moon handbooks and the world of coffee

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5 October 2008
9:45 am, Sunday

I am so pissed… yesterday we were in Esteli at the internet place and, as I hurried to finish and go to Eskimo with Sara and Chris, I forgot my USB there… went back late last night, but no luck. It’s gone. Someone got lucky. I have been wracking my brain trying to remember what is on the damn thing… some resumes, for sure, the photos of us and our vivero, music from Ben’s computer, chengyu folder, some freewrites that I saved to take and put online… some Peace Corps stuff? Not sure, entirely. But am pissed because now I can’t just write on here and take it in.

However, I did find a brochure with the name and address of Luna Hostel which has a café with wireless, so not all is lost. Will just be taking my laptop in on the weekends instead of paying at the asshole internet place who didn’t recover my lost USB. Grrrr…

Aw, Moncha just brought me refresco here in my room while I type this.

The reason I got this out, though, is to record somewhere all of the coffee info that I’ve been reading about in my Moon Handbook Nican Guidebook that was written by two RPCV’s.

Esteli and the Segovias

“O, the beauty of the mountains at Esteli. They sprang up from the earth in improbable contorted forms, in shapes “plenty of fantasy,” as the old tobacco map had put it.” - Salman Rushdie

Esteli Natural Medicine: CECALLI Sell their herbs, teas, and other natural products in a store on the Avenida Principal, 1.5 blocks north of the plaza. pp195

El Salto Estanzuela is the region’s most famous swimming hole, a gorgeous 15 meter, rainy season only cascade that plunges into a cold, shady pool, all smothered in colorful native flora and fauna. To get there, hike from the terminal of the urbanos at the new hospital, taking the road between the two pulperias. The 5 km hike should take between 60-90 minutes, each way. It’s an easy hike, but with lots of ups and downs. pp 196

Reserva Tisey: A reserve co-managed by the Nature Conservancy which boasts a rustic eco-lodge, fields of organic vegetables, a network of hiking trails, and trips on horseback. Start by settling in at Eco-Posada Tisey . They will find you guides, rent horses, or show you around the organic farm that stocks most of Managua’s supermarkets with fresh veggies… The folks at the Posada can show you some of the reserve’s other highlights, like the septuagenarian sculptor who picked up a hammer and chisel to absorb some of the nervous energy when he quit drinking, or the bat cave with more than 10,000 winged friends . Closer to the lodge, taste fresh cheeses and vegetables, or visit the farming community of La Garnacha. pp 196

Palacaguina and Coffee Cooperative: GETTING THERE: Most ordinario busses traveling between Esteli and Somoto or Ocotal pass through Palacaguina, but check before the bus departs the station. One of Nica’s largest fair trade coffee co-ops, PRODECOOP is the centerpiece of town, on its own compound b/t Palacaguina and the northern exit to the hwy. Composed of some 2,000 grower families, PRODECOOP exports as much as 30,000 quintales - or 100 pound bags - a year. PRODECOOP can house and feed up to six guests in brand-new accommodations atop the cupping lab and overlooking the vast drying beds, which bustle with activity during the harvest season.

Matagalpa & Jinotega Highlands

Black gold: the story of Nican Coffee pp 218-219
1850, Germans. 1880’s, coffee love grips Nica.

At first, coffee was shipped in bean - or parchment form, but by 1912 the Nican German community had established their own processing plants where they milled and processed the coffee beans. They used a new “wet” method that stripped the beans of their pulp over grated steal cylinders.

Today, Nica is home to more than 40 wet coffee mills, plus the thousands of micro-mills on individual farms.

Unique to Nicaragua is how much of the process is performed on the farm before the product is shipped; this is a significant difference from Costa Rica where most farmers send off their harvest immediately after picking.

Small scale coffee farmers are learning to recognize good coffee and eliminate the middlemen, or coyotes, by using “cupping labs,” or specially equipped kitchens where Nican co-op members are trained to grind, brew, and rate their own coffee using internationally recognized criteria. Key figure in cupping labs was Paul Katzeff, CEO of Thanksgiving Coffee Company, www.thanksgivingcoffee.com

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