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“El Limoncillo” Estate, Matagalpa Erwin Mierich El Limoncillo it’s owned by Dr. Erwin Mierich. The first impression you have of him is that he looks more like a farmer than a doctor. He welcomes us in the spacious complex of his farm. “While I was living in United States, I worked as a gynecologist, but then I had to comeback to Nicaragua and lead this farm. Coffee has been my passion since I was a little boy.” says the Doctor. Giving us a rapid tour around the farm, he fluently explains each step of the coffee process: from the sowing, the development of the coffee trees, the picking of the cherry coffee, the wet process, the removing of pulp and the dry process. He also explains all the details there are in order to produce one of the best coffee beans with a great quality from Matagalpa. El Limoncillo has a community living within the boundaries of the farm. The workers can live with their families in this area. They count with food, housing and a salary for those who work in the field. The place is totally ecological. The energy they use comes from turbines that operate with the water that falls from the river. The gas they use for cooking is processed by a biodigestor, not needing any wood for this activity. The coffee is also managed in an organic way, avoiding sources of contamination. To reach this point of cleanness, it has taken them several years. Therefore the certification of “specialty” coffee is well deserved.