From the volumes of coffee flowing out of Minas Gerais (the largest of the three major Brazilian growing regions), we have plucked a special treat traceable to a single estate located near the city of Andradas in the protected origin of Mantiqueira de Minas region, known for its rolling hills and uneven terrain. Fazenda Santa Clara is an active member of AssociaĆ§Ć£o dos Cafeicultores do Bairro Gabirobal (ACAFEG) an association located in the community of Andradas within the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The group was formed in 2007 and acquired Fair Trade certification in 2010. ACAFEG has used their Fair-Trade premiums to build a coffee lab, which allows the quality control team to evaluate coffees and provide prompt feedback to member of ACAFEG. The 220-acre estate Fazenda Santa Clara has been in the Basso family since the 1930s, when they immigrated from Italy and first planted grapes on the estate. Along the way the estate was converted to coffee cultivation. Since then, Fazenda Santa Clara has consistently established itself as a go-to source of Brazilian specialty coffee where focus on farm management has made the estate a symbol of the organic movement in the region. Much of the credit goes to the leadership of Paulo Teixeira Giordani who draws his passion for coffee all the way back to his great grandparents. As a trained agronomist, Paulo has matched his inherited family passion with academic knowledge, creating biodiverse environments full of microorganisms and beneficial cover crops that support a healthy coffee crop. During the harvest coffee cherries from Red CatuaĆ, Yellow CatuaĆ, Mundo Novo, Red IcatĆŗ, Red Tupi, Red CatucaĆ, and Arara varieties are sorted and floated to remove less dense and damaged coffee, then placed on patios to dry to 11 percent moisture, and then carefully stored until it is time for milling and export.
