New! Just a Lil Happy *limited edition* Spotlight Coffee! Nicaraguan SHG!

Just a Lil Happy is a saying in Water Valley. It means I was thinking of you, and I got you something, no need for a thank you note, it was no trouble.

Our Just a Lil Happy series is always a single origin coffee. Meaning all the beans are from one place, and it varies! 

Right now! We are sourcing our Nicaraguan fair-trade coffee from the UCCEEI coop. This coffee is probably our best drip coffee, with a smooth and medium taste, rich body, and no strong notes of either smoke or chocolate. 

More about the origin below:

UCCEI Cooperative (Unión de Cooperativas de Cafés Especiales Cordillera Isabelia)

Founded in 2009 by coffee farmer and agronomist Kenia Ubeda, UCCEI unites several smaller cooperatives across Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Today the second-tier cooperative includes 900+ smallholder members and supports roughly 4,775 family members. UCCEI specializes in Nicaraguan specialty coffee and exports consistent lots of organic, specialty-grade green coffee beans.

Matagalpa, Nicaragua — Coffee Origin

Matagalpa’s lush highlands (altitude 1,100–1,350 masl) offer fertile volcanic soils, steady rainfall, and cool temperatures ideal for cultivating coffees with clarity and sweetness. Shade grown plots and mixed agroforestry help preserve biodiversity and soil health, yielding unroasted coffees with clean, balanced profiles that roasters have come to expect from Nicaragua’s northern mountain ranges.

How is Nicaraguan Coffee Graded

Nicaragua commonly exports specialty lots under SHG (Strictly High Grown) and EP (European Preparation) specifications. SHG denotes higher elevation—and typically denser, higher-quality beans—while EP indicates enhanced physical sorting and defect control. UCCEI’s organic washed lots align with these standards to deliver reliable, specialty-grade green coffee beans.

Nicaraguan Coffee Varieties

Member farms cultivate classic Central American cultivars—Caturra, Catuai, and Catimor. These varieties thrive in Matagalpa’s microclimates, contributing to a cup that often shows bright acidity, a medium body, and flavor notes of citrus, floral tones, and chocolate. Careful farm management and selective picking help preserve clarity and sweetness in the final roast.

Washed Processing

This UCCEI lot is a washed and patio-dried coffee. Ripe cherries are selectively harvested, depulped, fermented, and fully washed before patio drying. The result is a clean, balanced cup that highlights origin character—ideal for roasters seeking crisp structure and dependable sweetness from organic unroasted coffee.

Social & Economic Impact

Beyond exporting organic green coffee beans, UCCEI invests in its communities: farmer training in sustainable practices, access to education and healthcare, an internal credit fund for farm improvements, and price premiums for quality and certification. Under Kenia Ubeda’s leadership, the cooperative has strengthened incomes, resilience, and long-term quality, linking smallholders in Matagalpa directly to specialty roasters worldwide.

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(As always, add more coffee in your brewing process if you like your coffee dark as night and to slap you across the face, or less if you like a more lackadaisical cup of joe.)

And just so you know..

*our beans are fair-trade and organic / we roast in small batches daily so your coffee will always be fresh/ our building runs on solar/ this bag is compostable/ We use coffee roasting byproducts in our garden/ BTC runs a weekly gardening class at our local elementary school* 

THANK YOU 

For shopping small & keeping us doing what we love