Gabriela Hueck is the head of the quality control of Finca La Virgen, whose coffee Nicaragua La Virgen COE # 6 2018 won 6th place at the Cup of Excellence Nicaragua this year.
You have probably already tasted Nicaragua La Virgen COE #6 2018 and have fallen in love with it, just as our coffee hunter Jordan Dubov, who personally chose it, after participating in the COE jury in the Central American country.
We have already told you a little bit about Finca La Virgen and the wonderful model of sustainability they are following. It is curious that Finca La Virgen was born 20 years ago with this now modern but then revolutionary approach to growing specialty coffee and continues to follow it until today.
Who manages Finca La Virgen
Gabriela Hueck is the professional who is behind this project. Always smiling and in a good mood, dispersing positive vibes around her. An incredible woman with huge energy, along with her husband Henry and the Ponson Guiyer, who from friends have become business partners, Gabriela has been producing for years some of the finest coffees in Nicaragua.
When this year Finca La Virgen won the remarkable 6th place among the best specialty coffees in Nicaragua. Gabriela shared for the Alliance for Coffee Excellence website that for the first time Finca La Virgen is so close to the top 5 and everyone is extremely proud, happy and grateful to God for this success. This high ranking is a recognition of the hard work of searching the continuous improvement of their processes. “We’re looking of being better every day,” Gabriela told ACE. “The sixth place motivates us because the efforts of our entire team are rewarded.”
How is an exclusive coffee produced?
Probably because she is very well aware that a great coffee can only be the fruit of a great collaboration between a team of people who share the same goal, in which the participants are not just workers but partners, Gabriela claims that thanks to the ranking and price Finca La Virgen received for her coffee, they will invest in equipment for fermentation in the coffee processing, more raised beds to continue drying special lots at the farm and training for the Quality Control Team.
Nicaragua La Virgen COE #6 2018 is Hybrid H3, planted in 2011. H3 was created by a group of researchers concerned with finding the best quality coffee with excellent productivity. It is a cross between Caturra and an Ethiopian landrace from the KATIE collection.
Gabriela explains how the coffee was cultivated and in her words we can once again sense the attitude of Finca La Virgen’s owners to their work. ““For this special Microlot we have trained over the years a group of pickers…mostly women that we choose to pick this particular coffees, who gets paid double the minimum wage and receives training to ensure they know the optimal ripening point of the cherry. This activity involves a careful hand selection of cherries at the precise stage of ripeness. Hard work, dedication, passion and perseverance of our pickers and the rest of the team in the wet mill and drying process.”
What else does Finca La Virgen have to surprise you?
For several years now, in Finca La Virgen they are developing ecotourism by offering to enthusiastic coffee lovers to visit their farm and appreciate not only the well-preserved nature but also to learn more about how to grow and process coffee, by visiting the farm’s lab. What is also interesting, is that they decided to give women permanent work throughout the year for all the work on the farm and not only during harvest. Men and women are paid equally. This gives women a sense of security and belonging. But this humanistic attitude is natural to someone who loves with all their heart what one does. Gabriela sais she had not known much about coffee when she met her husband, but thanks to him she fell in love with the plant and the drink, and that love is still strong. Perhaps it is not only the love for the coffee that prevails. “We are Catholic believers and feel the divine presence on our farm,” Gabriela says. “The moment you enter it, you are full of peace.”
