In the Americas, because the region lies within the coffee-growing belt and has suitable geographical conditions and other advantages, many countries grow coffee, such as Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras. Although Nicaragua is less well known than other producing countries, its coffee-growing conditions are no worse than those of other Central American countries.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is located in the middle of Central America, bordering Honduras and Costa Rica, and is a country with both sea and land, facing the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.Nicaragua is also known as the land of lakes and volcanoes, because the country has 24 volcanoes, many lakes, rivers and saltwater lakes, and 43% of its land area is forest.

The north-central part of Nicaragua is highland, the east is coastal plain with many jungles and swamps and low flat terrain, and the west is coastal lowland, with many volcanoes and lakes to its east. The plains of Nicaragua are hot and rainy, with a tropical maritime climate; the western coastal lowlands receive noticeably less rainfall than the east and have a dry season and a wet season, with a tropical savanna climate. The central highlands have an average annual temperature of 18°C and annual rainfall of 1500-2500 mm, with the rainy season from May to December.

Coffee Regions

The country is mainly divided into three producing regions, namely Jinotega, Matagalpa and Nueva Segovias, all with harvest periods between December and March of the following year.

Nueva Segovias: This region is located on the northern border of Nicaragua. It is quite hilly, with an average altitude of 1100-1650 m, and is one of the smallest producing regions in Nicaragua. Yet in recent years it has begun to build a reputation as the country's best coffee and has also achieved great success in Nicaragua's Cup of Excellence COE. Moreover, in the 2024 Nicaragua COE, most of the winners came from this region.

Los Alpes Estate

In the 2024 Nicaragua Cup of Excellence COE, the champion, with a score of 91.1 for a natural Geisha, was Los Alpes Estate at 1600 m altitude in the Nueva Segovias region. This time it was also a repeat championship, as it had already won the championship at the 2023 Nicaragua COE.

At present, the estate owner is Olman Balladares. In addition, Olman also owns an Inversiones Valladares Acevedo S.A company and Buenos Aires Farm, and Buenos Aires Farm likewise achieved 7th place in this year's Nicaragua COE. Currently, Los Alpes Estate mainly grows Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon and Geisha varieties, while Buenos Aires Farm mainly grows newer varieties such as Maracaturra and Parainema.

Such results are all thanks to having a coffee research and quality control team that continuously improves agriculture, production and processing and other aspects to ensure the cultivation and output quality of the coffee beans, which is why these two estates have repeatedly achieved outstanding results at the Nicaragua COE.