Finca La Bastilla is located in northwest Nicaragua bordering on Honduras. The farm is owned and managed by Markus Fischer. After several years of getting to sample Marcus’ beautiful coffees, Barrington Coffee brought them onto their menu; and they liked two of his coffees so much, they acquired them both! This coffee, the El Peñon is a 40 bag microlot of the Red Catuai variety that Marcus has processed as a fully washed coffee.
With his ecologically minded approach to cultivation, Marcus farms just over half of his 768 acres. He has chosen to leave the remaining 373 acres as a nature preserve. The farm is adjacent to a vast nature preserve called Natural Reserve Cerro Datanlí – El Diablo Nature Reserve. El Diablo is a biologically diverse tropical cloud forest ecosystem that comprises some 14,450 acres.
Finca La Bastilla has received extensive recognition for their environmental stewardship and ecologically sound agricultural practices. This El Peñon micro-lot has been certified at origin by the Rainforest Alliance.
As aforementioned, Barrington was particularly smitten with two of his microlots; so they also brought in El Buey which is a natural processed coffee of the Yellow Catuai variety. Barrington is offering both of those two coffees together as a set, with their La Bastilla Tasting Pair.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Nicaragua Finca La Bastilla (El Peñon), from Barrington Coffee Roasting Company in Lee, Massachusetts, courtesy of Craft Coffee. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS
region: Lago de Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua
farm: Finca La Bastilla
producer: Markus Fischer
association: N/A
elevation: 1050 – 1450 meters above sea level
cultivars: Red Catuai
process: fully washed, patio dried
CUPPINGNOTES
The aroma of the El Peñon is deep and sweet, with scents of tropical fruit, red berries, baking spices and cedar.
The flavor follows the nose. This is a medium-bodied coffee with a soft, syrupy mouthfeel. This is a fruit-forward cup with a tart ruby red grapefruit acidity and flavors of wild strawberry leading the way, backed up by raw cacao nibs and ginger… The cedar nuance found in the aroma makes a reappearance here in the cup, mingling with roasted hazelnut through a slightly dry finish.
*content courtesy of Barrington Coffee Roasting Company
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.