Coffee and Much More!

Selva Negra, Nicaragua

By Sandra Scott

Wilkommen to the Black Forest of.... Nicaragua. Selva Negra, Spanish for Black Forest, is a sustainable coffee plantation that welcomes tourists.

From the food on the table in the lakeside restaurant to the electricity in the quaint half-timbered cabins, everything needed to run this little kingdom is produced at Selva Negra.

Located in the highlands of central Nicaragua, the hills of Selva Negra are draped in green year round and the temperature is always comfortable. Fourteen trails, six of which are designed for horses, make this beautiful and pristine cloud forest easy to explore.

Howler monkeys, deer, sloth, and quail, are just a few of the animals at home in this virgin forest. Toucans, hummingbirds, and goldfinches make the area a bird lover’s paradise. The luckiest birdwatchers may even add a quetzal to their inventory.

Hotel Selva Negra, on the grounds of the coffee plantation, has been in operation for twenty years. Eddy and Mausi Kühl, fourth generation descendants of the original German settlers who established the coffee industry in Nicaragua oversee both businesses. It was here that the wet process of coffee bean preparation was developed, producing the famous Matagalpa coffee. The Selva Negra coffee bean is of excellent quality because it is large in size, aromatic, and has the proper acidity and body.

This high grade of coffee is sold worldwide.

The coffee is produced in an “ecologically correct” manner. Pollution is avoided by using special machines so that the pulp of the coffee bean can be used as fertilizer. The Kühls claim that the fertilizer, combined with the altitude, makes for an especially bountiful flower and vegetable crop.

Biodigesters process the mucilage into methane gas, which in turn is used by the plantation workers for cooking, eliminating the need to cut the trees for firewood.  Because the processing methods are ecologically sound , the streams have remained crystal clear and the forest intact. Everything from the kitchen garbage to plastic bottles is recycled. For example, bottles are painted red, and a little coffee and alcohol is placed inside, tricking destructive bugs into thinking they’re dining on a red-ripe coffee bean.  The alcohol numbs them and they drown – happy!

The Kühls have created a prosperous coffee industry while preserving the natural integrity of the highland forests. Selva Negra provides everything for the family, tourists, and the hundreds people who live and work on their land.  Guests are given a tour of the coffee plantation.  All aspects of the growing and processing are explained with pride, for Selva Negra, in the heart of Nicaragua, is a place where the wonders of nature are just waiting to be enjoyed and appreciated.  It is a place that will stay in your memory long after you’ve said, “Auf Wiedersehen.”

Sandra Scott is a frequent contributor to travel publications and to Copley News Service and has co-authored two books on local history. She lives in Mexico, NY.
Photos by J. J. Scott.

©CoffeeAtlas.com

Contact Us: Editor Webmaster