La Huella
- First time cooperation: 2025
- Cooperation model: Direct Trade
Overview
La Huella is one of Fincas Mierisch’s youngest farms, acquired in 2014. Despite being a relatively new farm, La Huella has quickly become one of the best coffee-producing locations within the Mierisch family.
Located in the El Arenal community, Matagalpa province, Nicaragua, La Huella has 76 hectares of coffee cultivation area, situated at an elevation of 1315-1400 meters above sea level, with a harvest season from December to March. The farm is managed by Denis Morales, with average daytime temperatures around 21°C and nighttime temperatures dropping to 15°C.
Land Within the Arenal Reserve
What makes La Huella truly special is its location. The farm sits inside the Arenal Nature Reserve, which places strict restrictions on deforestation and water contamination. This is not just an environmental advantage, but a profound commitment by La Huella to sustainability.
Being within the reserve means all production activities at La Huella must comply with the highest environmental protection standards. From water resource management and waste treatment to maintaining biodiversity – everything is strictly monitored. This not only protects the local ecosystem but also creates an ideal environment for coffee trees to develop naturally and healthily.
Unique Microclimate with The "Self-Shading" Farm
The unique aspect of La Huella's microclimate is the fog that covers the farm approximately 60% of the day. This creates a natural "auto-shading" effect, allowing the farm to maintain cool temperatures without requiring many shade trees..
This dense fog phenomenon is not an obstacle, but rather La Huella's competitive advantage. The fog layer acts as a natural screen, filtering sunlight and creating a cool, humid environment - ideal conditions for coffee trees to develop slowly and accumulate flavor. Coffee plants here receive ample rainfall yet must work harder to produce cherries due to the lack of sunlight from the constant fog, resulting in dense, highly aromatic and sweet coffee cherries.
The Yellow Pacamara variety, which requires more sunlight than other varieties like Gesha, thrives on this farm due to the limited number of shade trees.
Pioneer Variety - H1 Centroamericano
La Huella is renowned for the H1 Centroamericano variety, a relatively new hybrid between Sudan Rume and Sarchimor developed in Central America. This cross has led to good resistance against leaf rust and high productivity.
H1 was released in 2010, resistant to coffee leaf rust and 22-47% more productive than traditional varieties such as Caturra. Besides these agricultural benefits, the variety performs extremely well in cup quality as well. H1 is highly demanding nutritionally but starts producing fairly quickly - La Huella obtained its first harvest in the second year after planting
The H1 variety has already gained success in the Nicaragua Cup of Excellence where it earned second place in 2017 , confirming the potential of this pioneering coffee variety. This achievement is not only La Huella's pride but also evidence of the Mierisch family's vision in investing in breakthrough coffee varieties.
Yellow & Red Pacamara
Besides H1, La Huella cultivates many rare varieties including Javanica, Yellow & Red Pacamara, Gesha, Yellow Pacas, Red Catuai, Pink Bourbon, and SL-28. Among these, Yellow and Red Pacamara are two special varieties that La Huella has developed into its own strength.
La Huella specializes in Yellow and Red Pacamara cultivation using distinctive Natural Cold Anaerobic processing methods XLIII Coffee. The Natural Cold Anaerobic process for Red Pacamara includes a 48-hour fermentation time at 6-10°C, followed by sun drying on raised beds Lafincadistribution. This method creates complex flavors with notes of kiwi, mango, honey, raspberry, sugar cane, and malt.
Yellow Pacamara at La Huella also attracts special attention from the international coffee community. This is a rare mutation variety with large beans and a unique flavor profile, offering an exciting experience for those who love distinctiveness.
Sharing Infrastructure with Mama Mina
La Huella does not have its own wet mill but shares one with the adjacent Mama Mina farm. Mama Mina, named after Erwin Jr's great-grandmother, also lies within the Arenal Reserve and shares a wet mill with La Huella.
This infrastructure-sharing model reflects Fincas Mierisch's philosophy of cooperation and resource optimization. Instead of individual investments, the two farms jointly use a modern processing system, ensuring consistent quality and minimizing environmental impact.
Additionally, the geographical proximity allows for rapid transportation of coffee cherries, maintaining maximum freshness from harvest to processing.
Why We Choose La Huella
What first attracted us to La Huella is the story of harmony between humans and nature. A farm situated entirely within a nature reserve, where every production decision must prioritize the environment - this is the clearest evidence of the sustainable commitment that XLIII Coffee always values. La Huella shows us that innovation doesn't mean going against nature, but rather working with nature to create value. This is the philosophy XLIII Coffee believes in: the best coffee comes from the harmonious balance between people, science, and the environment.
We also see in La Huella a pioneering spirit and courage in experimentation. Despite being established only in 2014, the farm has quickly established its position, while not hesitating to invest in new varieties and unfamiliar processes to create unique value. The transparency and responsibility in every production stage at La Huella - from complying with conservation regulations to optimizing resources - shows a partner focused not only on coffee quality, but also on a sustainable future for the specialty coffee industry. This is also the path that XLIII Coffee has chosen and is steadfastly walking.
