Received 5/9/2017
I know you've been waiting for Brazil coffee, and we drink a lot of it. It's delicious!
At first sniff, this coffee makes me think of a warm summer's day. Think wheat straw in the sun. I then get hints of sweet tobacco and cinnamon. In the cup, the taste starts out smoky and dry, with a hint of toasted marshmallow crust and sweet bread pastry (like monkey bread). Finally, the finish lingers on pastry and baking chocolate. This is a bold, yet silky coffee. No wonder you love Brazilian coffee.
Aroma: Sweet Tobacco and Cinnamon
Body: Full and Bold, Silky
Cup: Toasted Marshmallow, Fresh Sweet Bread Pastry
Finish: Lingering Pastry, Baking Chocolate
About this Coffee
GROWER: Fazenda Rainha
REGION: Botelhos, Minas Gerais, Brazil
ALTITUDE: 960 meters
PROCESS: Dried on patios in the sun and in mechanical dryers.
VARIETY: Yellow Bourbon
HARVEST: April – September
SOIL: Clay minerals
This coffee comes from Fazenda Rainha (pronounced “hai-nya”), an award-winning 280-hectare estate situated in Brazil’s Vale da Grama, an ancient volcanic valley that spans the borderlands between São Paulo State and the state of Minas Gerais. A repeat finalist in the country’s Cup of Excellence competition, Fazenda Rainha took home first prize in 2011.
This lot is 100% heirloom Yellow Bourbon. The variety traces its ancient history back to Reunion Island (formerly “Bourbon”) off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, where it was planted by French explorers in the early parts of the 18th century (resulting in the alternate name “French Mission”). Brought to mainland Africa before the turn of the 20th century, and thereafter to Brazil.
The region’s rolling hills make mechanical harvesting impossible – all the coffee from Fazenda Rainha is hand-picked. Harvest and processing are accomplished on-site by the farm’s full-time, year-round employees, all of whom also reside on the farm. In addition to housing, healthcare and education are provided to the workers and their families.