Sourcing details
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 have plucked a special treat traceable to a single estate in Sul de Minas, which is known for its rolling hills and uneven terrain lending to farms that are small to medium in size. Sebastião Alexandre da Silva has a 70 acre estate called Santa Catarina in the Carmo micro region. The estate was established in the 1980s and has 12 acres planted with Bourbon, Catuai and Icatu. Sebastião’s focus is farm management practices to bring out the best from each variety.
Processing details
While Sebastião’s driving focus is on creating farm management innovations, the post harvest processing is taken to a neighboring mill called Pedra Branca, where there is decades of processing knowhow. Sebastião’s is careful to selectively pick and deliver ripe cherries to the mill where this Red Catuai is washed and floated to remove damaged and less dense seeds, then sealed in airtight barrels and macerated for 24 hours before the drying process begins. Cherries are gently dried on raised beds to reduce moisture to 11 percent and then carefully stored until it is time for milling and export.
Exporting details
Sebastião’s works with an exporting company called Carmo Coffee, which helps with many of the logistics of selling to the international market, like warehousing and preparing coffee for export. Carmo Coffee also takes on a role to have a social impact with a program called Cria Carmo, which funds educational opportunities for children between 7 and 17 years old in the Carmo region.
