Elefante Reserve Coffee

Creamy, Complex, and Distinguished. Twin Engine Coffee fell in love with the big bean, Maragogype, during their first year living in Nicaragua. They found a farm, a finalist in the Cup of Excellence competition, growing this bean exquisitely which became the Elefante. Arabica Maragogype is the largest coffee plant in the world!

Who Made It: Twin Engine Coffee grows, selects, roasts, tastes and packages their coffee directly in Nicaragua. Certified Organic specialty coffee is grown in the Nicaraguan soil which produces incredible taste. Twin Engine Coffee’s model keeps the maximum possible resources at the source, creating more jobs in their local community than most coffee brands. Coffee in. Poverty out. 

Ingredients: 100% World’s Rare Arabica Maragogype, Specialty-Grade, Screen 19+ (Elefante Beans)

Handcrafted in Nicaragua

Twin Engine's Story Behind the Elefante Reserve Coffee

About the time Twin Engine Coffee was getting started in Nicaragua, Andrea drove toward Dipilto to learn more about the special Nueva Segovia region that reaches the Honduran border.  Among the nuances of the region, she met Roberto and the Maragogype coffee plant.  It turns out that Roberto’s small third generation farm is one of the few farms in the world where you can still find this big, beautiful, lanky plant growing. The thing is that Arabica Maragogype is rare in the world. Even rarer is finding it on a Cup of Excellence farm, less than a 1% chance.  Needless to say, each year we look forward to the harvest of this tiny lot.

Over the years, we have become good friends with Roberto (a true farmer) and his family.  We have learned a lot about each other, especially after the 2018 national crisis.  After 2018, Roberto’s family has come close to losing the farm due to the on-going national economic crisis. A loss on so many levels that we can’t let happen.  The mountain and the plants themselves are full of life.  Big dreams, heart, & heritage live there, too.

Roberto and three generations were raised on this farm. The homestead at the base of the mountain beside the wet mill [spanish: beneficio humedo] is where Roberto’s grandparents and family took retreat during the 1979 Revolution.  Each Elefante Reserve purchase keeps the farm going.  For the long-term, we are working with Roberto on a plan so that he can keep doing what he loves and that you can enjoy it.  Every time that we see Roberto, he wants to know, “Do they like it?”  We tell him, “They love it.”  He dreams that one day we will bring you all to camp there and feel it for yourself.

Why is this Maragogype so special?

It starts with the coffee plant.  It is big, beautiful, unruly, and yields few fruits.  The largest Arabica plant in the world with the largest coffee fruits.  The Maragogype’s beans are about 2x larger than typical Arabica beans – which is why they’re called Elephant Beans. We say Elefante in Spanish.

When sorted for the highest quality, the coffee has tremendous body, creaminess, and oils, which make for an extraordinary cup of coffee.  But, farmers don’t want to grow them because few companies are willing to pay what it takes. This means that heritage or heirloom coffees such as the Maragogype can be lost if we don’t support them.  Part of our vision is to make sure these losses don’t happen.

Moving on to selection. The name Maragogype itself does not immediately mean that you get the special, delicious cup that we are describing.  In fact, it is much more likely you are drinking the leftovers [ie. sorted out defects] if you find this coffee at a commercial price.

With all of our coffees, we focus on purity.  We work at the source and we are able to select out all primary defects that impact taste and health. Then we select again for size. Taking quality standards to this level is rare in coffee.  In the case of the Elefante, the plants are grown on a Cup of Excllence winning farm. There is something special about the terroir  (place) that sets these particular plants apart.  In the end, the Elefante Reserve can be compared to a Grand Cru wine, made truly unique by its place and the hands that cared for it.

Having access to a Cup of Excellence coffee is also quite unusual. Most Cup of Excellence coffees are judged and sold in a members-only auction. Then they are shipped out raw to other non-growing countries. We are able to offer this coffee to you because several years ago, before winning any awards, we told Roberto that we would do what it takes for his family to care for these plants each year.  Since then, our customers have let us know that the work is worth it.  We offer it to our customers at a consistent price that keeps that plants in production and the work in Nicaragua going.

Our first Reserve coffee is made of 100% maragogype beans.   Some of the tasting notes include cocoa, red fruit, citrus, and earthiness.