Brix Breaker – Nicaragua

A new lot, brought to us by our friends at Gold Mountain Coffee Growers in Jinotega.

Its name comes from an instrument. Before picking, Gold Mountain teams visit the plots on their member farms with a refractometer: the device measures the sugar content of the cherries, and it—along with their color and the picker’s eye—tells them whether a row is ready. Here, they push the Brix as high as it will go.

The variety is Pacamara, the Salvadoran cross between Pacas and Maragogype that produces outsize beans and a cup to match. It grows at elevations between 1,300 and 1,500 meters on plots belonging to several member producers, and dries in the cherry. This lot is from the 2026 harvest.

The result is unlike what you’d expect from a Nicaragua. Depending on the roast and extraction, Gold Mountain finds it reminiscent of Yirgacheffe one moment and as rounded as a Kenya the next. For us, it brings tropical fruit, apple notes, and a lovely sweetness that holds from start to finish.

About Gold Mountain Coffee Growers

Brix Breaker is the fifth Gold Mountain lot we’ve roasted. We keep coming back for the quality of their work, the variety of lots they offer, and their commitments—to the cup and to the conditions under which it is produced.

Gold Mountain is a group of producers that sells directly to roasters, from its own farm in Nicaragua, finca Idealista, and the farms of its member producers. Based locally, they handle their own exports and keep every lot traceable from farm to shipment. Their member farms receive microloans, loans, and technical assistance; surrounding communities get running water and school libraries, and households get electricity—all funded by coffee sales. They have also bought a rainforest to protect its endangered species, and in 2016 the SCAE awarded them its prize for excellence in sustainable development.