Brazil Fazenda Aracaçu
Tasting notes: Cocoa and nuts set the stage for a more subtle strawberry, cherry, and lime jammy-ness to play.
Process: Natural
Strength: Medium
The municipality of Três Pontas in Sul de Minas is touted as the greatest producer of coffee in the country. It has over 50 million coffee trees and its undulating topography falls in the transition zone between the Atlantica Forest and Cerrado Biome. The area takes its name from the three peaked mountain in the area which, stretching up to 1234 metres high, has often been used as a landmark.
The farm itself has been in the Chaves de Brito family for three generations, and is run by the inimitable Carmen Lucia who also heads up the Brazil Speciality Coffee Association. With a reputation for trying slightly more ‘out there’ processing, music is played to the coffee once processed to help it rest. Quality is paramount, and attention to detail unrelenting in what is often a real highlight of a farm to visit. Carmen has spent part of her time collecting varietals and has her own coffee botanical garden dedicated to preserving specimens of these.