NICARAGUA La Bendición

Luis Alberto Balladarez’s Beneficio (dry mill), Las Segovias, stands out for its focus on specialty coffees and microlots. One of the things that makes Luis Alberto unique among mill owners is that he owns and manages several of his own farms. The success that he has had with these farms is one of the reasons so many other farmers trust him to process their coffees. Luis Alberto is quality obsessed, with an almost microscopic attention to every detail in each step his coffee takes, from the nursery through the dry mill.
Visiting Beneficio Las Segovias feels a little like entering a sanctuary for coffee, and Luis Alberto exudes a confidence that is both calming and impressive. The cupping room, drying patios and dry mill are immaculate (cleaner than commercial kitchens in some instances). Quality control is taken very seriously here, and every picking that Luis Alberto receives at his wet mills and dry mill is carefully cataloged and tracked through the entire process (his entire production, including all his farms (which are miles and mountains apart) are monitored by CCTV that all feed into his office). We had the opportunity to visit some of his farms and his Beneficio last April for the second time in our coffee buying lifetime and observed the beginnings of Don Alberto transitioning leadership to his adult children.
 
This coffee proved to be a difficult coffee to roast, with lots of iterations on different profiles. We landed on something that we think is an excellent compromise between our style of bright bouncing coffee and perhaps where the coffee wanted to take us. In the cup look for notes of citrus zest, soft florals, and green melon. Depending on how you will be brewing it, we would suggest a coarser grind setting for filter or pourover for this coffee, and your standard or typical approach to Sump coffees for espresso and immersion, like French Press. Enjoy!