Luis Alberto Balladarez comes from a long legacy of coffee farming in northern Nicaragua. While several millers and exporters are established in Nueva Segovia’s main city Ocotal, Luis Alberto’s Beneficio Las Segovias clearly stands out for their focus on specialty coffees and microlots. One of the things that makes Luis Alberto unique among mill owners is that he owns and manages several of his own farms. The success that he’s had with these farms is one of the reasons so many other farmers trust him to process their coffees. Luis Alberto knows quality, and is obsessed with every detail in each step his coffee takes, from the nursery through the dry mill.