Cabo Azul is in the town of Las Nubes in Jinotega, Nicaragua, at 1,275 meters above sea level. Mercon Specialty has developed strong relations with Cabo Azul, and they have been a partner with our parent organization Mercon Coffee since 2000. Cabo Azul has a total of 778 hectares, with only 314 hectares planted. The rest of the land is kept as pristine bioreserve. The planted area produces 2,600 60kg bags of caturra, marseillesa, H1 hybrid, and catuai varieties.
In 2000, Rene Morales and Ernesto Fernandez converted the property from a cattle farm to a coffee plantation, paying close attention to quality and land stewardship. The bioreserve on the property is a haven for ocelots, monkeys, and quetzals.
Download Cabo Azul Estate SHG Info Sheet
H1 Hybrid is a new variety, also called Centroamericano, which is a hybrid of Sarchimor and the Ethiopian variety called Rume Sudan. H1 is extremely high yielding and rust resistant, yet has an excellent cup quality. Interestingly, the hybrids must be cloned via grafting, as the seeds will not yield a child plant with the same characteristics as the parent. This is very similar to how apple varieties are propagated: planted apple seeds have very little chance of yielding eating apples.
