Brazil Sul de Minas Castanhas

A carefully selected and prepped coffee, this offering stands out in a sea of mediocre Brazilian coffees. Mild acidity and moderate complexity with a full body and creamy mouthfeel, this offering features subtle notes of green grape, cocoa powder and peanut.

Arrival Date: October 9th, 2020

Acidity & Brightness: Moderately low acidity

Balance & Finish: Moderately complex, lingering nutty finish

Body & Texture: Medium-full bodied, creamy mouthfeel

Flavors: Green grape, peanut, cocoa powder

Grade: FC/SS - Fine Cup/Strictly Soft (Highest grade from Brazil), Size 17/18, grown at 925-1170 masl

Certifications: N/A

Processing: Natural (dry) processed, sun dried

Varietals: Icatu, Yellow Bourbon, Yellow Catuai, Red Catuai, and Rubi

Roasting: Start with a  Full City (Medium), or just up to the second crack. Most Brazilian coffees will roast a little unevely due to the natural processing.  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 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

As the world's largest coffee producer, Brazilian lots often come from larger estates that use highly mechanized processing strategies to manage larger volumes. Minas Gerais is the largest of the three major Brazilian growing regions and accounts for 50 percent of Brazil’s production. Minas Gerais has six micro-regions. This particular lot comes from Sul de Minas, which is known for its rolling hills and uneven terrain lending to farms that are small to medium in size. This particular lot was sourced from 68 producers in the Tres Pontes area. Each producer cultivates and harvest their own cherries and places them on patios to dry. After drying, coffee is carefully stored until it is time for milling and export. Preparation for export takes place through Cocatrel, an export company established in 1961 that works with 5,000 producers. At the Cocatrel dry mill, traceability and cupping analysis is used to establish the Castanhas lot and its vibrant regional profile.

Much of the coffee we see from the Brazilian market is only really useful in blending, particularly for Italian style espressos. They don't particularly stand out as a single origin offering but do add nutty smooth mellowness to blends. This coffee is definitely an exception to that rule! Spectacular preparation and care has resulted in a coffee that will still offer many of the same attributes as a blender while also being a fantastic single origin cup. Soft acidity and mild complexity give way to a medium-full body with a delightfully creamy mouthfeel. Look for subtle notes of green grape and cocoa powder with a lingering peanut finish. Perfect for a mild morning cup or super smooth, easy drinking espresso.