"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

While most of the world is gearing up for late nights watching the World Cup, Jen Murray has been up until the wee hours for a far more worthy reason — Cup of Excellence coffee auctions. Jen pulled off an all nighter in a bidding war for our pick of the COE coffees — the Esperanza del Carmen Tercero Monca — La Esperanza. And she was successful!

The Cup of Excellence is the most prestigious award for coffee in the world. Cup of Excellence coffees represent the highest quality in the world. A panel of national and international cuppers put each coffee through a rigorous five stage, three week cupping competition and select only the finest coffees, which must score at least 84 points. Cup of Excellence coffees are highly sought after and revered world-round.

We teamed up with some of Australia’s most discerning coffee roasters to win auction lot #19, beans from the estate of la Esperanza. This is a family run estate, which Esperanza del Carmen Tercero Monca runs along with his wife and four children. It’s located in the Quisulu community in Mozonte in the Nueva Segovia region of Nicaragua. The farm enjoys ideal condition — rich, clay soils, altitude of 1,550m asl, mild temperatures of between 18 and 25°C and 1,750mm rainfall annually.

The Esperanza family purchased the farm in 1995 and maintain the highest standard of farm practices. They believe the secret of their success lies in their harvesting procedures. Cherries are picked individually as they reach peak ripeness and dry milled. The purest, clean water is used during washing, and the cherries never touch the ground — rather, they are dried on raised African beds to avoid picking up flavours and aromas from the soil, and shipped out as soon as they are processed.

And the result in the cup? Sublime. Myriad flavours shine through — almond, caramel, cinnamon, vanilla, melon, hibiscus, floral, rose, honey, orange and jasmine. It has a complex and elegant, lemon / mandarin acidity that is long lasting, a beautiful round mouthfeel and a long, sweet finish.

We’re eagerly awaiting its arrival at our roasteries — it should land in around eight weeks. We can’t wait!

Read Jen’s blog about the auction here.