Variety · F1 hybrid
The F1 hybrid that won Cup of Excellence, proving a rust-resistant variety could compete on quality. Propagated by cuttings.
Centroamericano — formally H1 — is an F1 hybrid crossing Rume Sudan, a wild Sudanese variety prized for flavour, with Sarchimor T5296, a rust-resistant line.
In 2017 a Centroamericano lot won the Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence. That had never happened with a rust-resistant variety, and it settled a long argument.
The claim that disease resistance necessarily meant poor cup quality had been repeated for thirty years, largely on the evidence of Catimor. Centroamericano demonstrated that the trade-off was a property of specific crosses rather than a law.
Sweet and complex with good acidity and a full body — genuinely competitive with traditional varieties, which is the whole point.
It is a conventional F1, so it does not breed true and must be propagated by cuttings or tissue culture. That limits how quickly it reaches smallholders, and it is the problem Starmaya was designed to solve.
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and increasingly beyond.
Filter, light to medium roast. It rewards a clean brewer.
The equipment this actually requires — not a shopping list, the shortest route to doing it properly.
60° cone · spiral ribs · 1–4 cups
The most transparent cup you can brew for twenty euros, and the least forgiving. Ceramic holds heat where plastic does not — and the open bottom means your pour, not the dripper, decides the coffee.
Best for: Someone who wants to taste what a single-origin coffee is actually doing.
≈ $25 / £20 / 22 €
64 mm flat burr · filter only · single dose
64 mm flat burrs, near-zero retention and a footprint the size of a mug, built for filter and honest about not doing espresso. For pour-over it is the clearest grind you can buy at this price.
Best for: V60, Chemex, AeroPress and batch brewing, where clarity is the whole point.
≈ $345 / £275 / 300 €
0.9 L · ±1 °C hold · counterbalanced gooseneck
The best-pouring kettle sold, and the hold function matters more than the thermometer. Expensive for boiling water — but if you brew pour-over daily, it is the accessory that most improves the cup.
Best for: Daily pour-over, where flow rate is the variable you are trying to control.
≈ $195 / £165 / 180 €
