Apple, sherry, dark chocolate

Producers: Amarildo Jose Borges
Origin: Cerrado Mineiro, Brazil
Elevation: 1150 masl
Varietal: Catuai

About This Coffee

This special extended fermentation lot is sourced from producer Amarildo Jose Borges and his farm Fazenda Paraiso near the city of Carmo do Paranaiba in the Cerrado region. The farm is 170ha and spans elevations of 1,000 to 1,150masl. To process this lot, the cherries were fermented for 72hrs and then sun-dried on a cemented patio.

The Region

Coffee was first cultivated in Cerrado Mineiro in the 1970s by farmers from Paraná and São Paulo. Through a technique that corrects soil acidity (liming) and irrigation, large-scale cultivation has become possible. has around 4,500 farmers cultivating a combined area of 210,000ha. The Cerrado Mineiro presents a dry climate during the harvest period, which causes the coffee to suffer less from humidity after harvesting, allowing for a consistent drying process. The region, which covers 55 municipalities in total, achieved the Denomination of Origin in 2013 and was the first region in the country to receive this recognition.

"I started in coffee world in 1985 when I planted my first seven hectares. Over the years I went through financial difficulties, environmental, among others, gained experiences and overcame all adversities with my family. After going through these difficult periods, I expanded my farm, invested in structure and quality. Today my property results in high yielding harvests and exceptional flavors".

- Amarildo José Borges

History of Coffee in Brazil

American colonists had been drinking coffee for fifty years before the first coffee seed was planted in Brazil in 1727. A hundred years later, Brazil accounted for 30% of the world’s coffee supply. A hundred years after that, in the 1920’s, Brazil held a virtual monopoly, producing 80% of the world’s coffee. Although Brazil’s market share peaked at 80% in the 1920’s, its continuing status as the world’s largest coffee producer still gives the country considerable influence on the market and coffee prices. It is said that when Brazil sneezes, the coffee world catches cold. In 1975, a “black frost” destroyed over 70 percent of the crop in Brazil and coffee prices doubled world-wide. Brazil was a founding member of the Pan-American Coffee Bureau, which invented the concept of a “coffee break,” during an advertising campaign in the early 1950’s.