90.26
About the farm:
The farm Las Flores is located in the community Los Horcones, municipality of Pueblo Nuevo, Department of Esteli. (E-mail: [email protected]; Facebook: Gonzalo Castillo). I have my farm for more than 25 years already and I come from a family of coffee producers. My farm has a total of 145 mz divided as following: 100 mz cattle pasture, 20 mz forest and tacotales, 25 mz under coffee out of which 22 caturra variety and 3 mz hybrid produced by the project ECOM CIRAD. I cultivate my coffee in organic way already 6 years and 50% of the farm is replanted second year and for this the production is a little bit lower, Im producing quantity of 200 QQ of exporting coffee. In my farm apart the coffee I breed fishes, variety Tilapia, in three lakes which I use for an irrigation system to water my coffee. We also breed and reproduce bees for honey production and at the present I have 10 beehives. I produce quantity of 1500 quintals of organic fertilizer which I use for fertilization of the coffee plantation, I am breeding worms in three basins that are 2 m wide, 8 m long and 70ms deep each one of them. I use coffee pulp from the farm and cattle fertilizer, and I have production of milk since I have 20 milking cows. Until the last year the farm had a certification for organic production OCIA, this year I didnt administer it but I am still maintaining the organic production practices and sustainability. I am integrated in the network of suppliers of Exportadora Atlantic of ECOM group with the 4C, certification of better practices. On the farm we use the best agricultural practices, protecting the environment, the river basin. The animal hunting is forbidden, and we recycle the solid waste. Every year we plant around 1500 trees, especially in the parts where is needed to protect the nature. From our farm we supply more than 100 surrounding families with drinkable water free of charge and we protect those water springs. As for the coffee cultivation we use technologies such as Brocap tramps for plague control, tubetes for nursery, and hybrid varieties with high hybrid potentiality, we have complementary drip irrigation system, and we use natural fertilizer such as vermicompost. We cultivate our coffee totally under shadow and we use guavas, buckaroos, musace, guanacaste, wild figs, and other species Typical for the zone. The farm is approximately on 1000 m above the sea level.
About his family:
I have a wife, three children and two grandchildren.
What is the secret of your success?
The first secret to win in the Cup of Excellence is to love and protect the mother Earth and thus she will give us the best fruits. Then, to have different varieties such as our caturra coffee; to have an adequate management during all the production phases, from the sowing, to the farm work; time proper picking of the ripe beans; excellent washing process; good storage and coffee transport management to the dry mills. To have good coworkers in our farms, people who know the importance of good coffee management. I believe that the coffee has intrinsic quality, what we have to do is to take care of it, take care of all the process not to damage it.
How do you feel being a winner of the Cup of Excellence Nicaragua 2010?
I feel happy and satisfied to have won. It is a recognition to the coffee quality, to the workers that work with me on the farm, to the effort of everyone, to the personnel of the dry mill of Atlantic than manages my coffee, to the effort of ACEN that made so much effort to organize this event.
His experience in the Cup of Excellence:
The Cup of Excellence is very important for Nicaragua and for us, the coffee producers. The Cup of Excellence helped us that the coffee consuming countries get to know and recognize the quality of our coffee. It is an event that stimulates us to produce better coffee; it is a healthy competition where there are always winners and never losers.
| Rank | 8 |
|---|---|
| Farm Name | Las Flores |
| Farmer/Rep. | Gonzalo Adán Castillo Moreno |
| Altitude | 1200 |
| Country | Nicaragua |
| Year | 2010 |
| Size (30kg boxes) | 54 |
| City | Pueblo Nuevo |
| Region | Esteli |
| Program | Nicaragua 2010 |
| Month | - |
| Aroma/Flavor | peach, custard, floral, jasmine, apple, mango, honey, fruity, strawberry, black current, cocoa, rose, vanilla, toasted pecan |
| Acidity | bright, structured, complex, tartaric/malic, pear-like, winey |
| Other | juicy, long aftertaste, creamy finish, sweet citrus |
| Processing system | Washed, Sun |
| Variety | Caturra |
| Coffee Growing Area | 2.1 |
| Farm Size | 14.68 |
| Auction Lot Size (lbs.) | 3534.41 |
| High bid | 9.05 |
| Total value | 31986.41 |
| High bidders | Kean Coffee, Terroir Coffee, Oren's Daily Roast, Coffee Klatch, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters and Café Imports |