History & Origins
The Mierisch coffee legacy traces back to the late 1800s with Bruno Mierisch Boettiger, a German geologist who received land in Nicaragua as payment for his work on the National Railroad. In 1908, the first coffee plants were placed on his farm Las Lajas, following tax initiatives to encourage coffee growth in Nicaragua.
The Mierisch family has been farming coffee for five generations, and today operates 9 coffee farms in Nicaragua and 3 in Honduras, managed by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th generations of the family.
Las Delicias was owned and operated by Eleane Mierisch, who was one of Nicaragua’s most respected figures in coffee processing until her passing in 2023.
Though she had long worked in the family business, Las Delicias was the first farm she owned herself, acquired just a few years before her death.
Eleane was one of the leading lights in coffee processing in Nicaragua and Honduras, responsible for much of the reason coffee from the family Mierisch tastes so clear and sweet — a job title normally dominated by men in Nicaragua.
Today, Las Delicias is managed by her nephew Erwin “Wingo” Mierisch Jr and partner Gioconda Padilla, with Wingo considering this his very first own farm.
Terroir & Growing Conditions
Las Delicias is located in Lipululo, in the Jinotega department of Nicaragua, at an average elevation of 1,450 metres above sea level, offering ideal conditions for cultivating high-quality coffee.
The farm is 20 manzanas (about 13 hectares) in size and all of it is planted with coffee.
This property is next to one of the Mierisch family farms called San José.
The Jinotega region sits at 1,000 to 1,500 meters above sea level, with a cool, high-altitude climate that makes coffee plants work harder to develop complex flavors. Over 15,000 families cultivate about 110,000 acres of coffee in this northern region.
The volcanic soil in Jinotega provides rich nutrients and excellent drainage, promoting healthy root development and imparting distinct mineral notes to the coffee beans.
Jinotega’s volcanic soil and tropical climate produces consistently high-quality coffee, and the region is often referred to as “La Ciudad de las Brumas” or City of the Mists due to the fog that cloaks the mountain ranges.
Processing & Production
Common for Nicaragua, the coffee is washed and separated by density directly at the farm before it is taken by truck to the process station. At the processing station the coffee is de-pulped (beans removed from the coffee cherry), fermented overnight and dried on raised beds.
Las Delicias is made up of 17 apples of productive coffee of the varieties Javanica and red Bourbon, planted across the 20 manzanas of the farm.
Wingo is making this elegant, floral coffee shine more and open up more every year, with his skill and expertise evident in the delicate and bright profile of their Javas and numerous wins in Nicaragua’s “Cup of Excellence”.
The farm also produces Gesha varietals using cold anaerobic natural processing, which highlights clarity and floral sweetness, revealing delicate chamomile aromas, crisp apple acidity, and a smooth honeyed body.
The Java varietal grown at Las Delicias serves as the mother plant to the Javas being cultivated in Bolivia, with seedlings from Las Delicias brought to Rodriguez’ farms to try out new varietals in Bolivia.
Cup Profile & Tasting Notes
The Las Delicias Natural Java has an aroma of sherry and presents as a sweet and a little boozy and floral cup, with flavor notes of papaya, cacao and rum raisin and a fudge-like flavor in the finish. The coffee has a medium body with a juicy texture.
The washed Java offers a delicate cup with notes of apricot, cacao and citric zest with a finish of brown sugar, presenting a light to medium mouthfeel reminiscent of elderflower lemonade.
The family’s skill is evident in the delicate and bright profile of their Javas, which gets more and more intense notes of citric and apricot every year.
Coffee from Jinotega is known for its well-balanced and approachable flavor profile, with chocolate and nut-forward flavors and undertones of fruit and citrus.
The Gesha lots showcase delicate chamomile aromas, crisp apple acidity, and a smooth honeyed body, demonstrating refined and graceful characteristics that showcase the quiet elegance of the varietal.