Silvio Sánchez – Catuai Natural

The Santa Teresa de Mogotón farm lies high in the mountains of the Nueva Segovia region—in a place accessible only by a single road, where cell service doesn’t reach and where, even in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, the road is barely passable when it rains. Silvio Sánchez, one of the few young growers in the entire region, cultivates coffee here in the shade of dense pine forests. Slow ripening in a cool microclimate at 1,600 meters above sea level makes every harvest a small event. The natural processing is meticulous: the cherries are harvested by hand, sorted, and then transported an hour and a half down to the warm, dry town of Ocotal, where they dry on raised African beds in full sun.

Each day’s harvest is dried separately. The result is an espresso with a pronounced cocoa depth, notes of strawberry, and a creamy texture.