Nicaragua Matagalpa Maragogype

Sweet Maria's Coffee

Maragogype (also spelled Maragojipe, pronounced "Mara-go-hee-pey") is a distinct cultivar of Arabica coffee, more specifically it is a subtype of Typica. It is called the "elephant bean" for its incredibly large size. Supposedly the first Maragogype plant happened spontaneously in Brazil in the early 1900s. Now, bean size per se has nothing to do with cup quality: a bigger seed doesn't make a better cup. But the argument for Maragogype is that the tree produces fewer cherries and flavor is more concentrated. I have tasted some very bland Maragogype that was lower grown, so this isn't always true. And hey, once you grind it up it all looks the same! On the other hand I have had some coffees that had outstanding cup qualities, surpassed all the rival samples in blind cupping, and just happened to be Maragogype. Maragogype coffees are often pooled from a small region of growers, since each independently would not have enough to form a lot. So in a sense, these are like pearls in a bed of oysters, and even in local markets of coffee-producing areas they sell for 3x to 4x the going price. Be warned; the Maragogype is a bit different in the roaster. In most air roasters you need to cut back on the batch size by about 1/3 so the coffee agitates properly. It's better to underload the roaster than overload it, or the coffee will scorch or tip (burn in spots) during the roast, and the cup will taste skunky! With a smaller batch size you will have different roast times. I would set the roaster to a long roast setting, then stop it manually. Some roasters handle this coffee a lot better - drum roasters do well, and the Rosto is fine too. Z&D is okay. The Freshroasts - you need to take care with the batch size, and probably need to tilt or move the roaster to get an acceptably even roast. Roast appearance: the Marago's can appear variegated/mottled in color when roasted light, just as they do in the green form - this will not cause a problem in the cup. And to that end, this is a very unusual and unique cup. The aromatics are more floral than Nicaraguan coffees, with citric highlights. As mentioned, the body is light, and there are herbal suggestions to the cup, green tea, lime, pepper. It is reminiscent of a wet-processed Ethiopian coffee, or the funky cousin of one, at least.

Average Rating:

(2 votes)

For more information on this product, visit Sweet Maria's Coffee's website.

Dig Deeper