Top Dollar for Farmers: Nicaragua La Virgen Cup of Excellence

Published Oct 1, 2007

Over the next few months, we'll be roasting two complex, exhilarating Cup of Excellence coffees: La Virgen from Nicaragua and La Unión from Costa Rica. An international jury cupped these coffees. So did we. Now it's your turn.

Top Dollar For Farmers

The Cup of Excellence award brings record crop prices to farmers. Udo Hermann Ernst Spies and family, growers of the exceptional La Virgen harvest, earned 5 times the Fair Trade rate. The thousands of extra dollars positively impact the sustainability of their business and community.

Top Coffee For You

The Cup of Excellence award fetches good prices for coffee growers, but it's not charity. Above all it's an award for quality.

In our cuppings, we found that La Virgen is one of the most elegant coffees we've ever tasted. It's dry and velvety on the tongue, with flavors of nutmeg, green apple, cocoa, plum, and light citrus. The sweet caramel aftertaste stays with you for hours.

La Virgen performs beautifully when extracted through the simple means of a French press. It's ideal for brewing at home or the office. We're offering 1-pound bags of La Virgen for home brewing. We're also serving La Virgen at our cafes in presses that you take right to your table. Fun and fresh!

Small Farms Big Market

Winning harvests sell on a web auction that attracts intense competition. Through the power of the internet, family farms are linked to artisanal coffee lovers around the world. You know your growers. You know who they are and where they live. And they're rewarded for cultivating extraordinary coffee.

About the Farm

When Udo Hermann Ernst Spies first came to Nicaragua in the 1980s, he built his own "casa hacienda" (farm house) and decided to grow coffee. With help from his family, he has spent twenty years refining his growing techniques. "We made a loan in previous years. But we are sure we will continue moving forward," said his daughter. "The Cup of Excellence contest for sure can get us better prices."