Chocolate, dried fruit, brown sugar and sometimes a little spice. Ethiosar has a fairly distinctive cup, but the reason we're interested in it goes beyond flavour.
It's a coffee hybrid built from Sudan Rume, Sarchimor and Villa Sarchi, bringing together genetics from wild-origin Arabica and rust-resistant breeding lines. It was developed in Nicaragua by the Mierisch family and their cousin Ricardo, who was looking for a plant that could cope better with the conditions on his farm at around 800 metres above sea level.
The result is a relatively rare variety that combines useful agronomic traits with genuinely good cup quality. In 2021, an Ethiosar from the Mierisch family's Los Placeres farm took first place in the Los Favoritos Private Collection Auction with a score of 90.30. That's a pretty good introduction for a variety most coffee drinkers have never heard of.
Why Ethiosar was developed
Coffee farming doesn't happen under laboratory conditions. Farmers have to work with whatever weather, disease pressure, soils and elevation their farms give them, and those conditions aren't particularly predictable.
Coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix) is a good example. Central America has experienced serious outbreaks over the last few decades, putting particular pressure on farms planted with varieties that are productive but susceptible to disease. Finding plants that can maintain useful yields while requiring less intervention has become increasingly important.
Ethiosar was developed with that problem in mind. The idea was to combine the cup qualities of Sudan Rume and Villa Sarchi with the disease resistance and vigour associated with Sarchimor and its Timor Hybrid ancestry.
What is Ethiosar?
Ethiosar is a hybrid created in several stages rather than through one simple cross.
- Sudan Rume and Sarchimor: Sudan Rume was crossed with Sarchimor, a hybrid descended from Villa Sarchi and the Timor Hybrid.
- The next cross: That offspring was then crossed again with Villa Sarchi.
- Selection: The resulting plants were selected through successive generations for the characteristics the breeders were looking for.
It's a complicated pedigree, but the basic idea is fairly straightforward. Sudan Rume contributes valuable genetic diversity and cup quality, while the Sarchimor and Villa Sarchi side brings useful agronomic traits.
Ethiosar is sometimes described as a stable hybrid or as a seed-propagated variety. The exact breeding history and generation-by-generation selection work aren't well documented in the public literature, so it's worth treating the terminology with a little caution.
Meet the parents
Sudan Rume
Sudan Rume, also written as Rume Sudan, is associated with the Boma Plateau in what is now South Sudan, close to the Ethiopian border. The coffee was documented in 1941 by A. S. Thomas, and material from the original collections was later introduced to international coffee collections.
It is valued by breeders because it brings genetic diversity and good cup characteristics into crosses. It's also unusual: genuine Arabica populations from South Sudan are rare, and genetic research has shown that the history of the Rume Sudan material held in coffee collections is more complicated than the simple "wild Ethiopian variety" description often repeated online.
On its own, Sudan Rume isn't especially attractive as a commercial variety because of its relatively low productivity and susceptibility to disease. Its importance is largely as breeding material.
Sarchimor
Sarchimor is a group of hybrids developed from Villa Sarchi and the Timor Hybrid. That combination is important because the Timor Hybrid carries genetic material from Coffea canephora (Robusta), which introduced strong resistance to coffee leaf rust into a number of modern Arabica breeding lines.
One of the best-known Sarchimor lines is T5296. It's productive and rust resistant, which made it useful for breeding even though it isn't considered a particularly uniform variety for direct commercial planting.
Villa Sarchi
Villa Sarchi is a natural mutation of Bourbon discovered in Costa Rica in the 1950s or 1960s. A mutation affecting plant growth gives it a compact, dwarf habit, making it well suited to steep terrain and high-density planting.
World Coffee Research lists Villa Sarchi as a Bourbon mutation and notes that it is particularly well adapted to high-altitude conditions and strong winds.
In Ethiosar, Villa Sarchi appears again in the final backcross, bringing another dose of Bourbon-related genetics into the finished plant.
Why the backcross matters
The interesting part of Ethiosar isn't just the list of varieties in its pedigree. It's what happened after the first cross.
Sudan Rume and Sarchimor were already combined in Centroamericano H1, an F1 hybrid developed through the Central American breeding programme. Centroamericano has become well known for combining good cup quality with strong agronomic performance.
Ethiosar followed a different route. Rather than stopping at the F1 stage, the offspring was crossed again with Villa Sarchi and then selected through further generations.
That matters because an F1 hybrid has two very different sets of characteristics compared with a variety that has been stabilised through subsequent generations. F1 plants can show considerable hybrid vigour, but their offspring can also segregate into different types. A selected and stabilised line can potentially be propagated from seed with much more consistency.
For farmers, that can make a difference. Being able to produce planting material from seed rather than relying entirely on specialised clonal propagation makes a variety much easier to spread between farms.
That is one of the more practical ideas behind Ethiosar: not just making a high-performing plant, but creating something that farmers can actually work with.
Ricardo's experiment
The Ethiosar we know today is closely associated with the Mierisch family and their cousin Ricardo.
Ricardo farms near Finca Limoncillo at around 800 metres above sea level. At that elevation, he was dealing with conditions that were becoming increasingly difficult for some of the coffee he was growing. Yields were falling and disease pressure was increasing, which the family linked to changing rainfall patterns and the challenges of growing Arabica at lower elevations in Nicaragua.
Among the experimental plants he was working with, one stood out. It was producing heavily and appeared to be coping much better with the disease pressure affecting the other coffee around it.
That plant became Ethiosar.
On the farms, it is still often referred to as Ricardo, after the person who first selected and developed it. There is something quite fitting about that. Ethiosar might have a complicated genetic name, but its story started with one farmer spotting a plant that was behaving differently.
The Mierisch family and Finca Limoncillo
The Mierisch family's coffee history goes back to the early twentieth century. Their first farm, Las Lajas, was established by Bruno Mierisch, and the family has now been growing coffee in Nicaragua for generations.
Finca Limoncillo is one of the group's oldest farms. The 171-hectare property is in the Matagalpa region, with around 109 hectares planted with coffee. It also includes a large area of protected rainforest and nine waterfalls, and the farm has developed renewable energy and community infrastructure alongside its coffee production.
We've been buying coffee from the Mierisch family since 2007, and Limoncillo has been part of that relationship for much of that time.
It's also a farm with a history of unusual varieties. Yellow Pacamara was first identified there as a natural mutation in a block of Red Pacamara, while the farm's Javanica has its own unlikely origin story. Ethiosar fits neatly into that tradition of experimenting with coffee genetics rather than simply planting whatever is most widely available.
What does Ethiosar taste like?
Ethiosar tends towards a sweet, chocolatey cup with moderate acidity and plenty of body.
That basic profile can move around quite a bit depending on how the coffee is processed. We've had washed lots showing brown sugar, chocolate, sultana and green apple, while natural versions have brought out more obvious berry and orange fruit.
- Washed: Brown sugar, chocolate, sultana and green apple.
- Natural: Plum, raspberry and orange with a fuller, juicier character.
- Honey: Toffee, walnut and raspberry jam.
Recent lots from the Mierisch family have also shown that Ethiosar doesn't have to mean a heavy or overly earthy cup. Good processing and roasting can bring a surprising amount of clarity and sweetness.
More coffee from fewer plants
The other reason farmers are interested in Ethiosar is its productivity.
According to the Mierisch family's figures, Ethiosar can produce up to around 40% more coffee than Caturra, while being planted at a lower density. Figures commonly given for the variety are around 2,800 plants per manzana compared with more than 4,000 for Caturra.
Those numbers matter because plant density affects everything from planting costs to pruning, nutrition and general farm management. Getting a strong yield from fewer plants can make a real difference to a farm's economics.
The variety's resistance to coffee leaf rust is another advantage. The Timor Hybrid genetics in its Sarchimor ancestry are responsible for that resistance, although the exact level of resistance can vary between breeding lines and growing conditions.
The 90-point Ethiosar
Ethiosar got an important vote of confidence in 2021.
The Alliance for Coffee Excellence and Fincas Mierisch revived the Los Favoritos Private Collection Auction, bringing together coffees from six farms and several different processing methods.
The winning coffee came from Los Placeres and was an Ethiosar processed using an anaerobic low-temperature method. It scored 90.30 points, the only coffee in the auction to break 90.
The judges described red grape, blackberry, chocolate and rum, along with a creamy body and juicy aftertaste. A second Ethiosar also made the winning lots.
It was the first time the Mierisch family had included Ethiosar in one of their auctions, so seeing the variety take the top spot was a genuine surprise. It also helped put Ethiosar on the radar of roasters outside Nicaragua.
Why Ethiosar matters
There are plenty of coffee varieties with an impressive pedigree. Ethiosar is interesting because the pedigree appears to have a practical purpose.
It combines genetic material associated with cup quality, disease resistance, productivity and adaptation to challenging growing conditions. None of those traits are particularly revolutionary on their own. Putting them together in a plant that can also produce specialty-quality coffee is what makes it useful.
There's still plenty we don't know. Ethiosar isn't currently included as a named variety in the World Coffee Research Arabica Variety Catalog, and there isn't a large body of independent published research on its agronomy or genetics.
For now, much of what we know comes from the Mierisch family's breeding work, farm observations and the experiences of producers growing it. That's not the same as a replicated scientific trial, but it has given the variety enough of a track record to make it worth watching.
The verdict
Ethiosar is a good example of why coffee genetics can be more interesting than a list of famous variety names suggests.
It's a complicated hybrid, assembled from Sudan Rume, Sarchimor and Villa Sarchi, then selected for the traits that matter on a farm. It can produce strong yields, cope with coffee leaf rust and still make a sweet, characterful cup.
And that's probably the most important part. Ethiosar isn't interesting just because it has an impressive family tree. It's interesting because farmers can actually put that genetics to work.
Quick varietal facts
- Varietal: Ethiosar (also known locally as Ricardo)
- Type: Hybrid variety developed through successive crosses and selection
- Parentage: Sudan Rume × Sarchimor, followed by a backcross to Villa Sarchi
- Related to: Sudan Rume, Sarchimor, Villa Sarchi, Timor Hybrid and Bourbon
- Origin: Nicaragua
- Associated producers: Mierisch family
- Growing region: Matagalpa, Nicaragua
- Typical elevation: Grown successfully from around 800m and upwards
- Growth habit: Vigorous; exact plant characteristics vary by selection
- Fruit colour: Red
- Disease resistance: Strong resistance to coffee leaf rust through Timor Hybrid ancestry
- Yield: Reported to produce up to around 40% more than Caturra under suitable conditions
- Planting density: Around 2,800 plants per manzana is commonly reported for Ethiosar at Mierisch farms
- Typical cup profile: Sweet, chocolatey and full-bodied, with flavours ranging from brown sugar and sultana to plum, raspberry and orange depending on processing
- Notable recognition: 2021 Los Favoritos Private Collection Auction winner, 90.30 points
- World Coffee Research status: Not currently listed as a named variety in the Arabica Variety Catalog
Further reading
Alliance for Coffee Excellence – Los Favoritos Winner Shines Light on Lesser-Known Variety
The official account of the 2021 auction and the 90.30-point Ethiosar that took first place.
World Coffee Research – Villa Sarchi
Background on Villa Sarchi, one of the key varieties in Ethiosar's pedigree.
World Coffee Research – Centroamericano
Useful context on the related T5296 × Sudan Rume F1 hybrid.
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems – Validating South Sudan as a Centre of Origin for Coffea arabica
Research on the wild Arabica populations of South Sudan and the complicated history of Rume Sudan material.
