Traceability
Minas Gerais is the largest of the three major Brazilian growing regions with six micro-regions, which account for 50 percent of Brazil’s production. From this volume of coffee, we landed on a special treat traceable to two estates in the Matas de Minas region and the neighboring Cerrado micro-region, which are known for their rolling hills and uneven terrain lending to farms that are small to medium in size.
Fazenda Santa Helena
One part of this regional blend comes from Santa Helena, which is owned by the Dutra Family who started planting coffee in the region over 50 years ago and they have grown their estates to nearly 2,500 acres with 10 distinct farms where coffee cherry from 3 million coffee trees is harvested by hand by more than 600 seasonal workers. Fazenda Santa Helena, with 500 acres cultivated with coffee and another 80 acres planted with eucalyptus trees, is actually relatively small to medium by Brazilian standards, which has allowed the Dutra family to focus on specialty grade processing. The Dutra Family is also known for their passion for sustainability. Solar energy is big at their fazendas where all of the depulpers run on solar power and the mechanical dryers are next on the agenda for this clean energy conversion. The estates collectively boast nearly 750 acres of native forest to protect water sources and create natural barriers to protect the coffee trees from wind and erosion. The Dutra family also takes their role as employer very seriously with big investments in a school located at the estates and a health care program for employees and their families.
Fazenda Recanto
But let’s not forget that this lot is a blend with the other component coming from Fazenda Recanto, owned by the Saquarema Group, which has an equally impressive collection of estates with nearly 8,000 acres of organic coffee cultivation and an impressively large production of organic fertilizer dedicated to sustaining organic coffee production in the region.
