Blind Assessment:

Balanced, crisply sweet-tart. Lemongrass, cardamom, cocoa powder, rhododendron-like flowers, fresh-cut cedar in aroma and cup. The structure fuses sweet, tart and savory tendencies, enlivened by a quietly juicy acidity. Buoyant, satiny mouthfeel. The crisp finish is richly sweet, with notes of lemongrass and vanilla-like florals carrying into the long.

Notes:

This coffee tied for the third-highest rating in a tasting of 55 Nicaragua coffees for Coffee Review‘s October 2017 tasting report. Produced at Finca Los Pinos by the Corrales family from trees of the Maracaturra, Caturra and Catuai varieties of Arabica. Processed by the wet or washed method (fruit skin and pulp are removed from the beans before drying). This coffee is certified Bird Friendly by the Smithsonian Institution and certified organically grown. The Bird Friendly certification is the most rigorous environmental certification possible for coffee, and the only one that justifies use of the much-abused term “shade-grown.” One of the country’s pioneering socially and environmentally progressive roasters, Thanksgiving aimed to combine coffee quality with social and environmental responsibility many years before the latter preoccupations became fashionable. Visit www.thanksgivingcoffee.com or call 800-648-6491 for more information.

The Bottom Line: A solid, complexly structured coffee from a roaster that has supported the coffee producers of Nicaragua for decades, through thick and thin. The Smithsonian Bird-Friendly certification is a rare and impeccable environmental credential.