Nicaragua Los Milagros "Red Wine"

Naming your coffee after a flavor note is a bit like a roaster pointing at the center field fence, but this coffee knocks it out of the park. It comes from Gold Mountain Coffee Growers. Gold Mountain focuses exclusively on Nicaraguan brews and runs its own stellar farm, Finca Idealista. This coffee, however, doesn't come from Gold Mountain's flagship. Instead, it hails from a small operation in Jinotega called Los Milagros.

Los Milagros sits at Everest altitude and churns out some downright magical Red and Yellow Caturra and Bourbon. That's exactly what this coffee is, a colorful Caturra blend with some sweet-as-sin Bourbon thrown in for good measure. Who's the farmer behind the magic? Isidro Salgado. Isidro's coffees earned him a reputation as a Caturra wizard, so Gold Mountain hunted him down and teamed up on this brew. The partnership was worth the effort because the flavor on this guy is a technicolor affair.

The red wine in this brew is a Vin Diesel note: it's fast, furious, and bafflingly enduring. It really does feel like drinking an Italian red, sans the hangover. And it's not a standalone proposition. There are mulling spices hanging around, warm and inviting, but they maintain a separation from the marquee note. In other words, it doesn't taste like mulled wine; rather, it tastes like a sharp delicious red with the suggestion of radiant spices like clove and allspice in the background. As if that weren't enough, it's also got an old school sarsaparilla note on the finish. Not root beer. Sarsaparilla. There's a difference. Or so the good folks at A&W insist.

This is a wonderful brew. If you're a fan of washed coffees, Nicaraguan cups, or just downright delicious stuff, go ahead and press play. You won't be disappointed.

• Region - Jinotega, Nicaragua
• Process - Washed
• Farm - Los Milagros
• Altitude - 1,500 MASL
• Varietal - Red and Yellow Caturra, Bourbon

Best for:

• Pour Over
• Aeropress
• Drip Machine
• French Press
• Espresso