The Mierisch family have deep roots in Nicaragua – Bruno Mierisch Boettiger, a German geologist, first moved to Nicaragua in the late 1800’s, as part of the team tasked with building the Nicaraguan National Railroad. After the completion of the massive project and unable to pay salaries in full, the Nicaraguan government offered land in the mountains of Matagalpa as payment. This land became the first of the Mierisch family’s farms, and many generations later, they’re still working the same lands. Fincas Mierisch is now comprised of nine farms in Nicaragua and three in neighboring Honduras, overseen by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th generations of the family. El Limoncillo, named after the small variety of lemon growing on the farm, was purchased in 1930 and is the second oldest farm in the Fincas Mierisch group.
The Java variety was first planted at Limoncillo in the early 2000s, coinciding with a transition from commodity to specialty coffee – quality over quantity. Dubbed Javanica (Java grown in Nica-ragua) by the Mierisch family, it has gone on to place in the Nicaragua Cup of Excellence competition multiple times. The Red Honey process involves pulping the cherry to remove the skin, and then drying with 100% of the mucilage intact. This creates a unique cup, with notes of black tea and hibiscus.
