Nicaragua Bella Vista

Bella Vista Paraiso is a new coffee from an old friend – a wet-processed (fully washed) coffee of the variety Paraiso from Luis Alberto Balladarez's Bella Vista farm. You may also recognise him as the producer behind Un Regalo de Dios, Lo Prometido and La Bendición. Earlier this year, Pernilla & Johan visited Luis Alberto and his family. You can follow their journey on our Instagram.

Luis Alberto Balladarez owns several coffee farms, including Bella Vista, where he grows the Paraiso variety, which is a hybrid between Yellow Catuai and Timor.

The coffee is grown at an altitude of 1,650 metres, in the shade of coniferous trees. The berries are selectively hand-picked when fully ripe and sorted by water before being peeled and fermented anaerobically in sacks for up to 48 hours. The coffee is then rinsed in mineral-rich water and left to dry slowly in the shade.

The coffee has a smooth and rounded flavour profile with elegant notes of very sweet citrus, pear, peach and caramel.

Luis' innovative methods, such as planting guava trees to create shade, improve soil health and biodiversity, resulting in extremely well-balanced and terroir-driven flavours. At all of his farms, each harvest is processed with the utmost care to ensure that every coffee cherry is picked when it is full of sweetness, guaranteeing a cup that reflects his tireless commitment to creating structured coffees.

Each of Luis's farms is divided into so-called plantios (cultivation plots) based on altitude above sea level, and the coffee is then further separated by variety. Even batches harvested and processed on the same day can exhibit subtle differences, making them better suited to a specific processing method.

MORE ABOUT LUIS ALBERTO BALLADAREZ

Luis Alberto Balladarez comes from a long line of coffee growers in northern Nicaragua. While many exporters operate in Ocotal, the capital of Nueva Segovia, his washing station, Las Segovias, stands out for its strong focus on specialty coffee and carefully produced micro-lots.

What makes Luis Alberto particularly prominent among the region's producers is that he not only processes coffee, but also owns and runs several farms of his own. The success of these farms has earned him great trust among other growers in the area, who also choose to hire him to process their coffee. He runs the farms and his business together with his three children.

Luis Alberto has an exceptional eye for quality and is extremely meticulous in every step of the process – from cultivation to finished, export-ready coffee beans. All of his coffees are grown in the Dipilto–Jalapa mountain range in northern Nueva Segovia, at altitudes between 1,350 and 1,700 metres above sea level.