In order to predict the impacts of foreseen climate change on coffee production, one first step would be to check the impacts of past climate variations on coffee yields. We developed a survey in coffee zones in Nicaragua to compile the historical registers made by farmers on yields, rainfalls and temperature daily, management and blossoming date, and analyze their relationship to specific climate events. The farmers' perceptions on climate risks and actual damages were also investigated. A simple model was then developed, that links coffee phenology, rainfall effects on flowering and soil water balance. Coffee yield data were obtained from 23 farms, over a span ranging from 6 to 78 years. The Pacific Zone, and the most ancient coffee zone, presented the longest series of yields and rainfalls. Coffee yields are much more variable in this region than in the North Zone (variation coefficient 33% vs. 18%, resp.).Farmers' perceptions agreed with this finding, with much higher risks perceived in the Pacific Zone. Drought and rainfall excess alike were identified as causing the highest risks, temperature variations were not reported, possibly because they are much less easy to perceive than rainfall variations. The blossoming period was perceived, in both regions, as the most sensitive period, to drought as well as to rainfall excess. Drought events are perceived as more frequent. Very long series on blossoming dates and intensities allowed us to build and calibrate a model, based on rainfall and temperature, to estimate the rainfall during blossoming and the resulting yield loss. Rainfall over 40 mm during the blossoming could reduce the yield from 60%. Alternative practices are discussed that could mitigate the risks identified in the risk-prone Pacific zone.