Nicaragua Maracaturra Los Medios

Cafetalera Buenos Aires has offered us a "small" bean Maracaturra selection from their farms. I have quotes around 'small' because it's still on the larger end of the coffee bean size spectrum. (The range is purported to be 16 to 18 screen, measured in 1/64", but I think you will find the occasional smaller/larger exception on both sides of that range). What does this mean in the cup? We found this delicious Maracturra example had hefty sweetness and body, with the bright acidity and delicate top notes of our other Maracaturra's. The Buenos Aires' farms are mostly in Dipilto, and range in altitude from 1200 to 1600 meters above sea level. The Maracaturra cultivar is a large bean variety of coffee, a cross between Caturra and the so-called "Elephant Bean", Maragogype. It seems to be grown mostly in Nicaragua although I have found nice examples in El Salvador too. Buenos Aires is a rather low farm compared to other origins we buy, with this lot coming from about 1200 meters. This coffee is wet processed, which means that the whole cherry is mechanically separated from the coffee seed, and then the sticky layer of mucilage is broken down and removed using overnight wet fermentation. Maracturra can be tricky to roast due to the enormous bean size requiring a little extra time to develop the inside of the bean. Los Medios is a slightly smaller size than standard Maracaturra, but still a factor to consider when roasting. If you have the ability to control heat on your roaster, try a "slow and low" approach, slightly extending the beginning roast leg before 1st crack in order to produce a little more roast consistency from the inside out.