Brazil Premium Fazenda Vargem Grande e Pinheiros – Red Catuai Natural

Description

Marcelo’s passion for coffee comes from his father, João de Amaro de Assis, a rural worker who found in the coffee culture the basis to support his family. Marcelo has always been by his father’s side from which he learned what he would carry throughout his entrepreneurial life. In 2000, he graduated as an Agricultural Technician and in 2001, Marcelo was hired as a technical manager to work on the family properties of Flávio Márcio Ferreira, a rural producer in the São Gotardo region of Minas Gerais. Over time, Flávio perceived in Marcelo the entrepreneurial spirit, a young man who was fearless in exploring the universe of agriculture.

In 2010, the opportunity arose to join together to form the first specialty coffee farm. Thus, Marcelo and Flavio began the journey in search of the perfect terroir. After a long journey, the farm was built in the municipality of Campos Altos, Olhos D’Agua. Today, next to Flávio Márcio, he is a producer and administrator of Bioma Café, a company oriented toward the sustainable production of specialty coffees.

Tasting notes:
Very smooth, rich and clean coffee. At the lighter roast points it will have a small hint of some classic Brazil nuttiness but is jazzed up with some good sweetness and a hint of soft fruit. Pretty low acidity but you will see some until you hit the medium roast level. The cup gets real rich and chocolaty as you push towards 2nd crack and the mixing of nutty and chocolaty create a hint of caramel, not over the top but very tasty. Dark roasts were much smoother than we anticipated and pretty straight chocolate factor with just a hint of roasty notes.

Roasting Notes:
One can tell something is different with these beans when roasting. They swell up lovely before first crack, chaff comes off a bit early and they will turn a lovely golden color before actually hearing the first crack. A treat to roast, one can tell that care went into screening only the best cherries. Good almost anywhere, a nice solid medium roast is where to start with this cup. If not quite strong enough, add a little edge with a darker roast. If you want some sweeter more exotic tones, try it a bit lighter.