Red Pacamara Carbonic Maceration

FARM: Gold Mountain Coffee Growers Member Farmers

ORIGIN: Jinotega & Matagalpa, Nicaragua

VARIETALS: 100% Red Pacamara

PROCESS: Carbonic Maceration Natural / 272 hr fermentation time

ALTITUDE: 1200-1600 M

TASTING NOTES: We should call this a tasting 'experience' instead of tasting notes. Dry/ground aroma reminds us of pumpkin puree, wine, and the holidays. Immediately after grinding we think - wait, is this even coffee? The cupping fragrance and tasting notes resemble rum without the alcohol, mulled wine, and cherry syrup. Extremely juicy with a syrupy body.

ROAST: Medium

We sourced this exceptional coffee from our friends at Gold Mountain Coffee Growers as a short-time offering, available both at our mobile shop and online. This coffee is 100% Red Pacamara, grown by a group of smallholder producers and processed at Finca Idealista.

Red Pacamara is a unique varietal—a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe—that’s prized for its enormous bean size and complex cup profile. The “red” refers to the color of the cherry when it ripens, signaling peak sweetness and optimal harvest timing. 

To unlock even more depth from this already remarkable varietal, Finca Idealista experimented with a number of processing methods. After much trial and error, they dialed in a carbonic maceration approach that resulted in a stunning coffee—graded in the mid-90s and bursting with vivid flavor.

Carbonic maceration is a fermentation technique borrowed from the wine world. In this method, whole coffee cherries are placed in sealed tanks filled with carbon dioxide, creating an anaerobic environment. This controlled fermentation encourages the development of wild, fruity, and floral flavors, while softening acidity and enhancing body. The result is a cup that’s both refined and adventurous, with layers of complexity that unfold with every sip.

This coffee does best as a drip or pourover.