Nicaragua Balladares Maracaturra

The cherry-dried Maracaturra from Nicaragua's super producer Luis Alberto Balladares is the jewel in his coffee crown, making him famous throughout the coffee world. The coffee is known for its outstanding quality and ranked eighth in the Cup of Excellence Nicaragua 2025 with a high score of 88 points. An expertly produced coffee with a unique character. 

Luis is an icon in the country's coffee tradition, his knowledge and passion stemming from three generations of family heritage. This coffee - of the large-bean Maracaturra variety - comes from his top farm Un Regalo De Dios (meaning 'a gift from God'). One thing that makes Luis's coffee so unique is his drying process, where the coffee is given a long time to dry (up to 40 days). This is an important key to the complexity and longevity of the coffee. Another factor is the high altitude of his farm; the Maracatura crop grows at the highest point of the farm and ripens slowly. All this together produces a complex, mildly fruity, clean, balanced and very tasty coffee.

MORE ABOUT LUIS ALBERTO BALLADAREZ
Luis Alberto Balladarez comes from a long lineage of coffee farmers in northern Nicaragua. While many exporters operate in Ocotal, the capital of Nueva Segovia, Luis Alberto’s Las Segovias washing station stands out for its dedication to specialty coffee and carefully crafted micro-lots.

What makes Luis Alberto particularly unique among the region’s producers is that he not only processes coffee but also owns and manages several farms himself. The success of these farms has earned him the trust of many other growers, who rely on him to process their coffee as well. Luis Alberto has an exceptional eye for quality and is meticulous about every detail at every stage—from cultivation to export-ready beans.

Un Regalo De Dios, where this Maracaturra coffee is grown, is located in the Dipilto–Jalapa mountain range in northern Nueva Segovia. The farm sits at elevations ranging from 1,400 to 1,700 meters above sea level, but the Maracaturra grows from 1650-1700 meters (the highest point of the farm).