Origin

Dipilto, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua

Nueva Segovia, situated in Nicaragua's far north along the Honduran border, is celebrated as the birthplace of the country's most esteemed coffees. Coffee cultivation in this region commenced in the mid to late 19th century, with smallholder families introducing heirloom Typica and Bourbon seeds from central Nicaragua and Honduras. The area's mountainous terrain, characterised by the Cordillera Dipilto-Jalapa range, offers ideal conditions for coffee with elevations between 1,100 and 1,800 metres, rich volcanic soils, and mist-covered forests. These factors established Nueva Segovia as a consistent producer of high-grown Arabica.

By the early 20th century, coffee became the economic backbone of the region, with small-scale, family-run farms dominating the landscape. Despite disruptions during the 1980s civil conflict, coffee farming rebounded in the 1990s with a focus on quality and sustainability. The global specialty coffee movement in the early 2000s further elevated Nueva Segovia's profile, with its coffees excelling in competitions like the Cup of Excellence. Today, Nueva Segovia is synonymous with high-elevation microclimates and experimental processing, producing some of Central America's most expressive coffees.