Traceability Sheet
Finca Agua Sarca
Dipilto, Nueva Segovia · Nicaragua
67 ha
1,150 – 1,400 m.a.s.l.
30+ years family farming
Shade-grown
Finca Agua Sarca has earned repeated recognition at Nicaragua's Cup of Excellence since 2017 — the country's most prestigious specialty competition. A testament to Isacio's dedication to selective harvesting and clean processing, particularly in natural and anaerobic styles.
Finca Agua Sarca is defined by its terroir. Nestled in the hills of Dipilto at altitudes reaching 1,400 metres, the farm benefits from cool temperatures, sandy-loam soils, and steady rainfall that create ideal conditions for slow cherry development. The result is a cup with remarkable sweetness, structure, and clarity.
Owned by Isacio Javier Albir Vílchez, the farm has been in the Albir family for over 30 years — passed down through generations who have built an intimate knowledge of this land. At 67 hectares, with 56 under cultivation, Agua Sarca offers something rare: the scale to deliver consistent volume and the precision to produce award-winning micro-lots across multiple varieties.
Sustainability is central to Isacio's approach: native forest reserves are maintained across the estate, and the farm actively protects local water sources and wildlife habitats throughout the year.
Only fully ripe cherries are harvested to ensure maximum sugar content. Underripe and overripe fruit is removed during field-level sorting.
Cherries are floated in clean water to eliminate impurities and any remaining defects before entering the fermentation stage.
Whole cherries are placed in sealed tanks with minimal oxygen exposure. This controlled environment builds concentrated sweetness, unique aromatics, and layered cup complexity without excessive fermentation.
After fermentation, cherries are dried as whole fruit on raised beds. Slow drying ensures even dehydration. Temperature and humidity are monitored throughout the process.
Once the cherries reach ~12% humidity, the coffee rests before milling. This resting period allows flavors to stabilize and integrate before export.
Every lot we source from Agua Sarca is fully traceable — to the farm, the producer, the variety, and the processing method. The GPS coordinates and GeoJSON boundary file attached here allow you to verify the exact origin of your coffee independently, using any standard mapping tool. That is the standard we hold ourselves to at ROS.
Native forest is actively maintained across the estate. Agroforestry with native trees, fruit trees, and musaceae preserves biodiversity and provides natural shade.
Active protection of local water sources and wildlife habitats throughout the farm. Sustainable water management is integral to the estate's long-term vision.
Family-owned and operated for over three decades, Agua Sarca combines deep generational knowledge with ongoing innovation in processing and variety selection.
Nueva Segovia is Nicaragua's northernmost coffee region, and arguably its most ambitious. Pressed against the Honduran border, its mountains reach elevations that force coffee trees to slow down — long maturation periods that build the layered sugars and acids that define the region's best cups.
Dipilto, where Agua Sarca is located, is the region's most elevated municipality. It is a place where established producers compete at international level and where Cup of Excellence results have repeatedly surprised global buyers with the depth and expressiveness of the coffees produced here. Isacio Albir is one of those producers — multiple finalist results since 2017 place him among the area's most respected names.
The combination of sandy-loam soils, consistent rainfall, and Dipilto's particular elevation band creates a distinct terroir — one that rewards the kind of careful, process-driven approach Agua Sarca has developed over three decades.
