Nicaragua Izote نيكاراغوا ايزوت

The organization was started in 2014 by sisters Ana and Martha Albir, who have been involved with growing coffee their whole lives. As third generation coffee producers, they understand the complexities of market access and ensuring producers receive a liveable income. They constructed a wet and dry mill to help producers with processing and sales. The farm is broken up into lots based on altitude and area. This specific lot is called El Izote, the name of the plant bordering the farm. During the harvest, the cherries are carefully handpicked on the steep slopes and delivered to a processing area located on the farm. This lot underwent the Natural Anaerobic method, which begins with the cherries being sorted for quality and submerging them in a tank of water to remove the floating cherries. After sorting, the coffee is placed in plastic bags or barrels to ferment for 72 hours. Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is delivered to the Cafetos dry mill, located 31 kilometers away. At the mill, the coffee is evenly dispersed on raised beds to dry for three days in the open sun, 20 days under shade, and a final three days in the sun. As soon as the ideal moisture content is reached, the coffee is rested in a warehouse before being hulled and prepared for export.