Brazil Premium – Chapadão de Ferro – Mundo Novo Natural

Description

Carlúcio dos Santos began working in coffee in 1994 when he was invited by his uncle to come and get to know the area around Patrocínio in Brazil’s Cerrado Mineiro coffee region. Following the harvest that year he decided to stay, settling down in the city. In 2005, Carlúcio married Dona Kelly, who comes from a coffee producing family herself. Carlúcio partnered with his new brother-in-law to operate their own farm, beginning their Fazenda Chapadão de Ferro with three hectares of coffee.

Carlúcio and his brother-in-law worked with great dedication despite challenges and a lack of equipment, and have expanded their farm to include 20 hectares of coffee production today. The family all works together with a commitment to quality, taking great care in growing, harvesting, and drying their crops.

Within Cerrado, there are many microregions that present unique characteristics in the cup. The Chapadão de Ferro microregion is a small town with farms situated around the cone of a partially formed volcano. Farms here are at higher elevations above 1100 meters and coffee is harvested a month or two later than in other parts of Cerrado Mineiro.

This lot of Mundo Novo coffee underwent Natural processing. Mundo Novo is the product of a natural cross between Sumatra and Red Bourbon, discovered in the municipality of Mineiros do Tietê, São Paulo in 1943. Seeds from one of these trees were planted in the municipality of Mundo Novo, now called Urupês, in Sao Paulo state. Various lines of the plant were cultivated here, undergoing selection for positive characteristics. The results of this cultivation were finally distributed to farmers beginning in 1952, with new selections by the IAC (Agronomic Institute of Campinas) beginning in 1977.

Tasting notes:
We thought it best medium to dark roasted. At the lighter roast points it will have some stronger classic Brazil nuttiness jazzed up with hints of lemony acidity and herbal tea like spice. Good to let light-medium roasts setup for 3-4 days before drinking, holds up but we though it blossomed at the fuller roast levels. Low acidity cup but you can taste a pinch of lemon until you hit the medium roast level. As you push towards 2nd crack the cup gets real rich with strong nutty & chocolaty tones. Some complimenting smokiness if you touch or go into 2nd crack. Thick and creamy like a Sumatra, but without all the earthy funk or peaty notes.

Roasting Notes:
Versatile coffee good from light to dark. A little chaff heavy being a natural but roasts nice and even. Super light or super dark were the least favorite roasts for everyone here. A nice medium to borderline dark roast presented the cup nicely. For espresso, good to get a little fuller roast, turns nice chocolate in the shot.