Green Joe's Coffee Company

Green Joe's purchases its beans from the highest quality plantations around the world.  We are pleased to share with you some of the growers from whom we purchase directly.

Meet One of Our Growers

Selva Negra Estate, Nicaragua

Selva Negra's Coffee Appellation:

• Altitude: 4000 ft.
• Variety: Bourbon, Caturra (Arabica)
• Growing Method: Shaded Coffee
• Region: Isabelia Sierra, Matagalpa Nicaragau
• Harvest Time: November - February
• Drying Process: Sun Drying
• Grade: SHG, Euro-Prep #17
• Estate Mark: Selva Negra Estate
• Port of Shipping: Corinto (Pacific)
• Owners: Kühl-Hayn Family

History

Selva Negra's history is in many ways the history of the coffee in Nicaragua altogether. In the 1880's the Nicaraguan government invited young German immigrants to come and settle in Nicaragua in order to promote coffee growing in the northern highlands. Many young immigrants accepted the offer, thus forming the main coffee plantations of the country, many of which bear the names of the immigrant's motherland. Selva Negra's coffee farm is called Hammonia, Latin for Hamburg, which was the hometown of Mr. Hans Bösche, the German immigrant who first settled the land.

Quality

The Selva Negra Estate has been exporting quality old-style arabica coffee, with the tradition of shaded coffee, since 1890. Selva Negra guarantees that its quality is a standard above and beyond what most other coffee estates offer. Because owners Eddy Kühl and Mausi Hayn live on the estate, with their back door facing the mill, they get maximum exposure to everyday details. They take daily trips through the plantation, reviewing all the work, and employ people who respect Selva Negra and love the land. They pride themselves with our customer satisfaction in not only the coffee that is exported but also in the maintenance and quality of the estate where the coffee comes from, which guarantees continuous quality for that coffee.

Social Responsibility

Eddy and Mausi are committed to ecological agriculture and preserve over 300 acres of the estate that contain a vast virgin rain forest. The husband and wife are descendants of the original German Immigrants and demonstrate their dedication in many ways, from the use of organic fertilizer to the innovative use of coffee by-products to produce methane gas for cooking.

The Kühl-Hayn family works hard to follow sustainable practices, but it also takes responsibility for the quality of life for those who live at the estate. Selva Negra houses approximately 400 individuals during the year, and during the harvest season this number almost doubles with migrant workers. The employee benefits at Selva Negra include:

• Housing
• Elementary school and scholarships for continuing education
• On-site health clinic
• Sponsored baseball teams
• Transportation
• Special events
  
• On-site convenience store that sells goods at wholesale prices
• Training and conferences

Coffee Care

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