I just returned from Brazil with a group of clients. We toured only Cerrado which included visits to four producer groups.
We’ve been buying from Serginho de Assis and his Fazenda Agua Limpa since 2015. His farm is RFA certified and produces excellent quality natural and washed grades. The farm is in a beautiful section of Cerrado and the team at Agua Limpa takes great care of the coffee trees and natural environment. They improve their sustainability practices every year, this past year introducing biological components to replace the chemical pesticides typically employed to fight the insects that pose problems to coffee. They are committed to continual improvements and eager to adapt practices that will ease their impact on the environment.
MC Miaki Coffee Group also has excellent RFA certified coffee. They own farms within the plateau known as Chapadão de Ferro. This plateau was formed by volcanic activity thousands of years ago and it’s legacy is unique terroir to produce coffee. The soil is very fertile and mineral rich, and the high altitude and mild temperatures lead to a slower maturation process and thus a better concentration of sugar and other elements that enrich the cup profile.
The JC Grossi Group has a total of 17 farm properties all within the micro region of Patrocinio, consisting of over 3,000 hectares of planted coffee. Also RFA certified, and also very high quality, the coffee is under good hands and the company is poised to grow well. Nowadays, the new generation sons of José Carlos Grossi, José Carlos and Matheus Grossi, are taking over the day to day operations under the watchful eye of their patriarch.
And finally we visited the Guima Estate Coffee Group, who are pioneering some very innovative processing techniques at the direction of Mariana Caetano, COO, and Lucy Silva, General Manager. The group consists of 3 separate farms, all RFA certified, and all within the same micro climate, but under very different terroirs that produce distinct cup characteristics. Sustainability within the farms and mills is taken very seriously at Guima, and they have one of the most beautiful offices and cupping labs I’ve seen in Brazil. The coffees are spectacular and range from delicate and fruited, to bold, intense, and full bodied.
