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Coffee was shipped from overseas as an ornamental plant as early as 1750 to Guatemala by the Jesuit Fathers. Commercial production did not start until the earliest 1800's in Guatemala and Costa Rica. While El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras started in the second half of the XIX Century. German immigrants to Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica were the ones responsible of the industrialization that initiated the trial of the production , processing, and commercialization of coffee in these countries in the second half of the XIX Century. They were followed by local growers, as well as British and north Americans, who were attracted by these countries' policies of donating lands to immigrants who would dedicate to coffee production. Where did they send their coffee? Most of these immigrants got married to local girls, raised their families there, and many of them sent their chlidern to superior schools to their country land (Germany, Great Britain and USA) So they did with their coffee too. Germans and British shipped their coffee by the ports in the in the Pacific Ocean, going all the way to Cape Horn in South American and then by the Atlantic Ocean to the ports of Hamburg, Bremen, London and Trieste. North American and local producers used to send their produce to New York City also by Cape Horn. It was a long way to go, but we should remember that there was no Panama Canal then. Even tough these countries have coasts facing the Caribbean Sea, the distance from the producing highlands and the lack of roads made it more feasible to ship it through the Pacific Ports. For these countires it was easier to ship to the West Coast of US, but Californias's market was not attractive then. Even to this date most of Nicaraguan Coffee goes to Germany, France and Holland. Only with the awakening of the Gourmet coffee in the US from the 1970's is that Specialty buyers have been offering premium Nicaraguan coffee and the market has been fearing to US, mostly through the ports of New York and San Francisco. The rest of the Central American Countries sell their production most to the US.
 Alberto & Chenda Vogl (ancestors of Mausi Kuhl) Selva Negra's history is in many ways the history of the coffee in Nicaragua altogether. In the 1880's the Nicaraguan government invited young German immigrants to come and settle in Nicaragua in order to promote coffee growing in the northern highlands. Many young immigrants accepted the offer, thus forming the main coffee plantations of the country, many of which bear the names of the immigrant's motherland. Selva Negra's coffee farm is called Hammonia, Latin for Hamburg, which was the hometown of Mr. Hans Bösche, German immigrant who first settled the land. The Selva Negra Estate has been exporting quality old style arabica coffee, with the tradition of shaded coffee, since 1890. Remnants from the original German settlers are prevalent today on the Selva Negra Mountain Resort, from Mr. Bösche's (one of the those German inmigrants) original cabin to the front wheel of the famous The estate's proprietors are committed to ecological agriculture and preserve over 300 of the estate that contains a vast virgin rain forest. Eddy Kühl and Mausi Hayn, descendants of the original German Immigrants, demonstrate their dedication in many ways from the use of organic fertilizer to the innovative use of coffee by-products to produce methane gas for cooking. The Kühl's house adjoins the coffee "beneficio" (processing mill), ensuring the close monitoring of production to achieve top quality. Coffee Appellation Appellation are systems that are designed to maintain the integrity and quality of each area, most often appellations are based on unique climate, soil and geographic differences. Appellation, in the coffee industry is being enveloped in hopes that it will increase consumer recognition and respect. Most of you who are familiar with the definition of appellation may be in respect to the wine world, but in coffee? If we think about what appellation is used for we will see the benefits that it can bring the coffee world. As stated by Rivers Janssen of Fresh Cup Magazine: "[Appellation] is used in the wine industry to both specify the flavor and growing processes used for a region's wines and to ensure that a wine grown outside of specifications cannot misrepresent itself and reap the benefits of consumer expectation" If we think of all the coffees that we have heard of and or tasted, Ethiopian Yergacheff, Costa Rica Tarrazu, Guatemala Huehuetango, Kenya AA, do we know what the names stands for aside from a different name? Yet, when You pick up a bottle of Pauillac "Bordeaux" you not only know that the wine was grown and stored by the Chateau Latour winery, but also that it was grown in the Bordeaux region and that it underwent certain minimum standards during grape selection, harvesting, and processing. Otherwise, it would simply be a house wine, and not deservant of the Bordeaux name. Appellation, in the coffee industry is being enveloped in hopes that it will increase consumer recognition and respect towards the elite coffees in the world, and raise the table of standards for all other coffees. Coffee appellation is definitely at its infancy, but we hope that the consumer will some force the coffee industry to adopt some appelation standards.
Altitude: 4000 ft. Variety: Bourbon, Caturra (Arabica) Growing Method: Shaded Coffee Region: Isabelia Sierra, Matagalpa Nicaragau Harvest Time: November - February Drying Process: Sun Drying Grade: SHG, Euro-Prep #17 Estate Mark: Selva Negra Estate Port of Shipping: Corinto (Pacific) Owners: Kühl-Hayn Family |
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