Nicaragua Los Placeres

Los Placeres Farm, Matagalpa — 1,000 Masl

This lot comes from Los Placeres, a farm belonging to the Mierisch family in Nicaragua's Matagalpa department, grown at 1,000 meters above sea level — noticeably lower than the 1,300-plus-meter elevations more typical of the country's celebrated highland lots. The Mierisch family has farmed coffee in Matagalpa and neighboring Jinotega for well over a century, and today runs multiple farms across both departments.

The variety grown here, Ethiosar, exists specifically because of a lower-elevation problem the family set out to solve. Ethiosar crosses the Ethiopian varietal Rume Sudan with Sarchimor, with that offspring then re-crossed with Villa Sarchi — a combination developed through work between the Mierisch family and a cousin, Ricardo, whose own farm sits at just 800 meters. Ricardo had noticed his coffee plants struggling as yields dropped and disease pressure rose at his lower altitude, conditions increasingly common as growing patterns shift across Nicaragua — until one experimental plant in his fields stood apart, thriving and resisting disease where its neighbors couldn't. That plant became the foundation for Ethiosar, a variety bred to hold up at elevations where more traditional Central American cultivars start to lose both yield and cup quality.

The variety has since earned recognition beyond the Mierisch family's own farms: an Ethiosar lot grown at Los Placeres — processed anaerobically rather than washed, unlike this coffee — took first place in the Los Favoritos Private Collection Auction with a score of 90.30, a notable result for a variety this uncommon in competition circuits. This washed version draws on the same farm and varietal but takes a more traditional processing route: cherries are pulped and fermented to remove the mucilage, then dried, producing the cleaner, chocolate-and-nut-forward cup this lot is known for rather than the more experimental character of its anaerobic sibling lot.

Chocolate, Brown Sugar, Roasted Hazelnut

This cup opens with chocolate, deepens into brown sugar sweetness, and finishes on roasted hazelnut — a dense, comforting profile with medium-to-full body and mild, well-integrated acidity. It reads as classic Central American "cocoa cup" coffee rather than anything bright or experimental.

Ethiosar's lower-altitude growing conditions are a real part of that character: coffee grown at 1,000 meters tends to develop less of the acidity and floral complexity that higher elevations produce, and instead leans into deeper, sugar-forward sweetness — exactly what shows up here as brown sugar and roasted hazelnut. Washed processing keeps that base profile clean rather than adding the extra fruit or fermentation notes a natural process would layer on top, and the medium roast deepens the chocolate notes without pushing the cup into bitterness.

This is a coffee that holds up particularly well with milk — the chocolate and hazelnut notes complement dairy rather than getting lost under it, making it a strong candidate for lattes and other milk-based drinks as well as straight black coffee.

Espresso or Full Immersion

This coffee's dense, chocolatey weight suits methods that emphasize body over acidity.

Espresso

Dose: 18g in, roughly 36g out.

Time: 25–30 seconds.

Grind: Fine, adjusted to hit the target time — this lot's brown sugar and hazelnut notes translate well into milk drinks.

French Press

Ratio: 1:15 (coffee to water by weight).

Grind: Coarse.

Steep time: 4 minutes, then break the crust and press.

Full immersion suits this lot particularly well, since it lets more of the coffee's natural oils and body through than a paper filter would — a good match for a cup built around weight and sweetness rather than clarity.

Grind close to brew time and keep the bag sealed between uses; the roasted-hazelnut notes soften noticeably faster than the underlying chocolate sweetness once the coffee is exposed to air.

Did You Know

• This coffee's variety was born from a low-altitude coffee crisis. A Mierisch family cousin farming at just 800 meters was watching yields drop and disease take hold — until one plant in his fields defied the trend, thriving where its neighbors struggled. That single plant became the foundation of the Ethiosar variety.

• Ethiosar carries genetics from three different varieties. It's a cross of the Ethiopian varietal Rume Sudan with Sarchimor, with that hybrid offspring then re-crossed with Villa Sarchi — an unusually layered pedigree even by modern coffee-breeding standards.

• An Ethiosar lot from this same farm won a private auction. A differently processed, anaerobic Ethiosar grown at Los Placeres took first place in the Los Favoritos Private Collection Auction at 90.30 points — a strong showing for a variety still rare on the competition circuit.

• Lower elevation isn't automatically worse for coffee — it just produces a different cup. Grown at 1,000 meters rather than the 1,300-plus meters more typical of prized Central American lots, this coffee trades bright acidity for the deep chocolate and brown-sugar sweetness that defines it.

What does Nicaragua Los Placeres coffee taste like?

This washed, medium-roast Ethiosar cups with chocolate, brown sugar, and roasted hazelnut — a dense, comforting profile with medium-to-full body and mild acidity, closer to a classic cocoa cup than a bright or fruity one.

What is Ethiosar coffee?

Ethiosar is a coffee variety combining the Ethiopian varietal Rume Sudan with Sarchimor, re-crossed with Villa Sarchi. It was developed by the Mierisch family in Nicaragua to hold up at lower elevations where more traditional varieties lose yield and quality.

Why is this coffee grown at a lower altitude than most specialty coffee?

Ethiosar was specifically bred to perform well at lower elevations, where disease pressure and falling yields are more common. Rather than fighting those conditions with a traditional high-altitude varietal, this farm planted a cultivar built to thrive there.

Who owns Los Placeres farm?

Los Placeres belongs to the Mierisch family, longtime coffee growers in Nicaragua's Matagalpa and Jinotega departments who also produce Nicaragua Mierish under a separate release.

How should I brew this coffee?

Its chocolatey, full-bodied character suits espresso (18g in, ~36g out, 25–30 seconds) or French press (1:15 ratio, coarse grind, 4-minute steep) better than a lighter filter method.

Is this coffee good for lattes?

Yes — the chocolate and roasted-hazelnut notes hold up well against milk rather than disappearing under it, making this a good espresso-based-drink coffee as well as a straight black cup.