Don Sergio Ortez is one of the most passionate and energetic producers we have ever had the pleasure of working with at Café Integral. He has an insatiable curiosity and an almost uncomfortable need to push himself and his coffees past their limits in search of another breakthrough cup. He is the perfect example of the emergence of growers as “vignerons.” The coffees produced at his three farms often taste more of his personal signature than they do any other attribute - not region, varietal, or altitude for example. To some extent, Sergio adds layers to the coffee’s terroir that make for his unique expression of place. He is known to have one of the most ingenious wet mills, a “frankenmill” that he has tweaked and perfected to yield seven unique quality grades of coffee cherry once sorted. Finally, his coffees complete their cycle close to home - his front yard to be exact - where he has moved his drying beds and keeps a small warehouse and laboratory to track and evaluate the coffees as they progress.
Sergio is one of the earliest to experiment with extended and alternative methods of fermentation with his coffees. This particular method, which Sergio has coined “ámbar process,” has been evolving over the past three harvests.
The Java variety - believed to be a typical variety selection that was brought through the island of Java has made a name for itself in Nicaragua. The plant is very distinct, welcome for its short stature, and identified by its long and stiff branches with ample spacing for fruit along the branch. The variety has a good disposition and has gained admirers for its unique cup - a very soft and delicate profile - always filled with notes of meyer lemon, bergamot and a complex tea-like aroma, reminiscent of the sort of smoky notes in darjeeling. In this instance, Sergio has done as excellent job of harnessing the distinctive notes of the Java variety along with leaning into his unique multi-ferment anaerobic processes to bring us a mouthwatering, juicy, and fruited expression. We only have about 20KG of this lot from El Porvenir to go around, but we feel it’s a beautiful expression of this unique and important variety for Nicaraguan producers as well as Sergio’s unique hand in crafting memorable coffees year after year.
