From http://www.coffeereview.com/:

“Anomalies: Maragogipe (Elephant Beans)
Maragogipe (also called elephant bean) is a variety of arabica that produces an extremely large, rather porous bean. It is a mutant that spontaneously appeared in Brazil, almost as though the giant of Latin-America thought regular beans were too puny and produced something in its own image. It was first discovered growing near the town of Maragogipe, in the northeastern state of Bahia. Subsequently it has been carried elsewhere in Latin America and generally adopts the flavor characteristics of the soil to which it has been transplanted.

Opinions differ about the special qualities of the Maragogipe. William H. Ukers, one of the world’s great authorities on coffee, found it tasted “woody and disagreeable” in 1928. Others have called it the finest coffee known and claim it has a heavier body than a comparable arabica coffee from the same region. Current opinion, which I share, is that it produces a thinner and less acidy cup than other traditional arabica varieties grown under the same conditions. This weakness in the cup coupled with low productivity has discouraged farmers from replanting Maragogipe, and it has become a rather rare, difficult-to-find coffee. Most Maragogipes sold in North America are grown in Mexico, Nicaragua, or Guatemala. Those from Chiapas, Mexico, and the Coban district of Guatemala have the best reputation.

Maragogipe is a romantic’s coffee curiosity, and deserves respect on that ground alone. An alternative for those aficionados who have trouble finding a Maragogipe, or who want a dramatically large bean with more consistent cup quality, might try the pacamara variety, a large-bean Maragogipe hybrid grown in El Salvador on Los Ausoles and Larin estates and impressively soft and full in the cup.”

Notes from the importer: “Finca Los Angeles comes to us from the Dipilto region, located within the Nueva Segovia Department. Nueva Segovia sits on the nothern border of Nicaragua, and is characterized by it’s mountainous terrain, affording farmers high elevations to farm coffee, and to produce what are some of the top lots coming out of this country. Nueva Segovia is broken into several smaller regions, Dipilto being one of them, and those regions house many coffee farms that tend to be on the smaller end of the spectrum. While only 4 hectares in size, Finca Los Angeles produces upwards to 250 bags of coffee annually, making them one of the larger producer farms in the area. The actual crop area sits at about 1200 meters above sea level and is planted with mostly Maragogype trees, along with a few Paca and Gesha trees. The coffee planting area is dwarfed by the size of the property, mostly containing Pine, Cedro, and Roble trees. This outer forest of trees provides much needed shade for the coffee, and helps to produce highly fertile soil which aids in overall production quality.

This Los Angeles micro lot has a lot of molasses and muscavado sugar in the dry fragrance of the City+ roast, with maple and hickory aspects. The wet aroma has praline nut tones, with butter and honey as well. The aromatics turn toward a bittersweetness at Full City+. On the break, there are more spices, and the lighter roast has dried apricots. The cup is very unique and changes greatly as the cup goes from hot to cool. Lighter roast levels have a curious pine-like note, resinous, sweet, and spiced. As it cools down a dark grape sweetness emerges, along with a tart note of cranberry. The body is heavy and mouth-coating. Darker roasts were our favorites, and have honey, chocolate cake and walnuts. These darker roasts make a nice SO espresso or backbone for an espresso blend. This is a very approachable cup and is a nice option as our coffees from Central America begin to taper off.”