Brazil Serra das Três Barras Red Catuai

With all of the coffee pouring out of Brazil, it can be difficult to find a really special one that stands out, but we feel confident we've found one here! This single estate coffee is super drinkable and makes for a great blender, especially in Italian style espressos. It is moderately complex, creamy and mildly bright with note of strawberry, peach, brown sugar and walnut.

Arrival Date: February 5th, 2021

Acidity & Brightness: Mildly bright, gentle sweetness

Balance & Finish: Moderately complex, lingering nutty finish

Body & Texture: Medium-full bodied, creamy mouthfeel

Flavors: Strawberry, peach, brown sugar, walnut

Grade: FC/SS - Fine Cup/Strictly Soft (Highest grade from Brazil), grown at 1000-1400 masl

Processing: Natural (dry) processed, sun dried

Varietals: Red Catuai

Roasting: Start with a  Full City (Medium), or just up to the second crack. Most Brazilian coffees will roast a little unevenly due to the natural processing. This coffee will also take lighter roasts with ease, which will bring a bit more brightness to the cup. We don't recommend carrying Brazil coffees too dark in the roasting spectrum. Since they are grown in full sun, they mature fairly rapidly.  This results in a softer bean that we don't think takes to dark roasting well.  If your roaster has variable temperature, avoid the hottest settings to preclude scorching or "tipping".  When kept to a medium dark roast, this coffee is exceptionally sweet and has a nice, gentle, mild cup.  If roasted to dark, like most softer bean coffees, it can pick up an unpleasant ashy taste.

Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing

Our Review: "From the volumes of coffee flowing out of Minas Gerais (the largest of the three major Brazilian growing regions), we have plucked a special treat traceable to a single estate located in the protected origin of Mantiqueira de Minas region known for its rolling hills and uneven terrain. The 500-acre estate called Serra das Três Barras has been in Jose Wagner Ribeiro Junqueira’s family for five generations. Jose grew up on the estate and has managed operations for several decades. During the harvest coffee cherries are floated to remove less dense and damaged coffee, and then delupled and placed on patios to dry with the mucilage still attached. After 5 days, the coffee is moved to mechanical driers to precisely finish the drying to 11 percent moisture and then carefully stored until it is time for milling and export. Jose also lends part of his estate to Procafe for coffee research on new disease resistant coffee plants." - Royal Coffee

Brazilian coffee is a staple here at The Captain's Coffee. We absolutely love including it in our Espresso Blend as it adds great crema as well as gentle nuttiness to the blend. But it can be hard to source a truly great one since so much of the coffee coming out of Brazil is barely good enough for blending, much less any good as a single origin. It's important to us that our coffee be good for both! Well, we're absolutely tickled to have found this one. It has all the great qualities you'd want for a blender and as a single origin, it's moderately acidic, gently sweet, slightly complex and it's got body to spare! Expect a lingering, walnut finish as well as notes of strawberry, peach and brown sugar.