Claudia Lovo - Finca El Arbol
El Arbol, "the tree", was started by four coffee professionals began its journey in 2015, having the very first harvest in 2016. I am very lucky to call Claudia Lovo, Tim Willems and Per Nordby my friends. Nowadays, Finca El Arbol also produces coffee for Sasa Sestic, a part owner. Visiting them since 2016 and seeing their constant drive for innovation, justice and commitment, made me feel I found a second home in beautiful but troubled country - Nicaragua.
Claudia holds a special place in my heart. From the very first moment we met in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2016, she opened up to me with warmth and sincerity. Shortly after a cold winter in Sweden I flew to Nicaragua. With the best accompany I could imagine. Per Nordby and his father.
Since then, I’ve been continually inspired by Claudia's resilience, her strong and encouraging feminine energy, rebelious and unique personality, lots of love for people, and subsequently her unwavering passion for community service. Anyone who cares deeply about animals, as Claudia does, inevitably carries the same compassion for people. Her commitment to equity and collective well-being is visible everyday, and Bridazul is a perfect reflection of her values—a company dedicated to building community, improving livelihoods, and always putting producers first.
Pacamara variety
Tim, Claudia’s partner, is the perfect complement to her energy—a quiet yet irreplaceable force. With unmatched expertise in carbonic maceration and operational skills, Tim’s focus on quality is unparalleled. An experienced roaster and producer, he may be hard to read at first, but he’s deeply grounded. Plus, he’s the kind of friend you want by your side when sharing a good Belgian beer.
Apart of Bridazul - Claudia's and Tim's company helps developing programs for handful of farmers focusing a lot on sustainable agricultural practises. The goal at this farm is to increase bio-diversity and become a self-sustaining environment that will in turn produce high quality specialty coffee. Many years of work have gone into this farm and today there is a team of 14 full-time workers that care for El Árbol’s coffee trees and its mini ecosystem.
Agronomy
El Arbol is on track to become fully organic by around 2025 as they slowly reduce the use of chemicals that are currently being used to fight la roya (leaf rust). These chemicals are helping to strengthen the soil but are gradually being replaced with organic compost from local animals, trees, vegetables and flowers. The aim is to increase biodiversity on the farm and in the local area, so that the natural environment itself returns to being self-sustaining and nutrient rich. This will hopefully also ensure high quality coffee production so that the farm can fully support full time, all year workers.
Experiments
The farm grows a range of coffee varietals and has been the source of many innovations and experiments in processing techniques, including carbonic maceration techniques. Finca El Árbol features CM processed coffee and offers its infrastructure to other local producers across Dipilto so they too can take advantage of the carbonic maceration processing techniques for their own cherries. Each part of the farm is divided and planted with different, often exotic varieties and I am lucky to be tasting these experiments each year.
Pacamara variety
