This is a special micro-lot from Fazenda Cachoeira. The farm has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890. They recently celebrated their 107th crop, and recently their Organic coffees have achieved some recognition in the BSCA Brazil Late Harvest Competition, among others. Fazenda Cachoeira (it means waterfall, which is why there is more than one Cachoeira farm) is located in São Paolo State 3 miles from the border with Minas Gerais State. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Sul de Minas regions that have made it the "heartland" of Brasilian coffee for many decades. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, the owner, is also one of Brazil’s leading agronomists, an example of how it takes a very educated approach to tackle the challenges of organic coffee production. With a total area of 417 hectares, Fazenda Cachoeira has a coffee area of 165 hectares, along with other crops, ranch, and nature preserve. On this farm everything is done manually since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanization as you might find in the flat Cerrado savanna terrain.

Most of the offerings from Cachoeira are Yellow Bourbon cultivar, now widely available, and the cup quality varies from lot to lot. I have been very selective with our offerings, and this year the screen-dried Yellow Bourbon was not up to par. But this sample was totally different: a local mutation of Bourbon called Yellow Canario, available in limited amounts. This is also special because the green coffee is vacuum-packaged in 7.5 kilo bricks in Brazil, and imported in boxes, not jute bags. As you know, we are doing this with many of our top coffees, when it is possible, and the results have been positive from most origins. This Yellow Canario Bourbon is so much more dynamic than the other Cachoeira lots, bright, lively. The dry fragrance has sweet peach and floral elements, nice cocoa powder and dry-roasted hazelnut character at C+ roast. Add water and herbal-floral notes emerge with a touch of jasmine flower. There's a sweetness in the aroma you find in few Brazils. While my lightest roasts had a lemony tone, I much preferred City+ roast for its balance. There are sweet jasmine floral hints peeking out from behind a cocoa chocolate flavor, velvety mouthfeel, light body and a very elegant, sweet finish. Hazelnut and lightly malted chocolate dominate the roast flavor at City + roast, complimenting the lightly fruited flavors and jasmine accent. As it cools golden raisin sweetness and a lemongrass tea quality come out. For those cuppers in the coffee trade who avoid Brazils, this is a coffee that could change their minds, and the type of Brazil that would do very well in the Cup of Excellence. It has a premium price, but if it went through CoE it would be exponentially more.

This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

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Fazenda Joao de Campos is in a region called Alto Paranaíba near Serra do Salitre. It is a high plain in Cerrado Miniero, Minas Gerais state. At 1200 meters, the Serra do Salitre has better altitude than most of Cerrado proper, which averages 800-900 meters for coffee production. This is from a larger farm, no Micro Lot coffee this one. But it is much smaller than the neighboring Fazenda Aurea. Brazil coffee like this should be less expensive than other origins, because these coffees from Cerrado are mechanically harvested, and prepared for export en masse. Done well, mechanical harvesting is brilliant. But how many areas have the flat topography for this technique? Very few. We like this coffee for it's consistency and as a blend base (although it is respectable as a straight roast as well). It works very well for espresso. I used to have a bias against mechanical picking, but seeing the results of this on my last trip to Brazil, it changed my mind. It's not like you can use machines to pick coffee anywhere - Brazil, and the flat plain of Cerrado in particular, is one of the few coffee growing regions it makes sense. The even roast hints at good ripe cherry selection. The reason for receiving coffee in the form of ripe cherry is to ensure uniform processing, and to avoid the defects that usually end up on the patios in typical dry-processing. This is a balanced, not overly fruity flavor profile. It can be roasted lighter (City+) for straight brewed coffee, but I like it best at FC to FC+ for brewed use, blend, and espresso. The dry fragrance has a lot of roast sweetness and scent: nut, caramel, milk chocolate, and a backdrop of fruit. At City roast the aromas are malty sweet and lightly fruited, with a hazelnut note, but at FC+ they are much more aggressive and potent, with bittersweet chocolate tangy scents. Full City has the best cup, a nice balance between caramel and chocolate roast notes. FC+ is more pungent, spicy, dark chocolate alkaloids dominating the flavor and finish. Of course, this coffee is a natural for espresso all through the roast range, and would blend very well with both brighter coffees, or intense fruity dry-process types from Ethiopia. It's a very versatile lot.



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