Brazil - Castanhas do Brasil

The farm

Castanhas do Brasil comes from Sitio Santa Rita, a smallholding in Espera Feliz, in the Caparao region of Minas Gerais. Jhone Milanez Borges de Lacerda grows and processes it himself at 950 metres, lower and warmer than our African lots.

It is a honey coffee: the ripe cherries are pulped and separated from the unripe before drying, and the seed dries with its sticky layer still on. That is where the even sweetness comes from, without the ferment of a full natural.

It cupped 84 points, Type 2/3, screen 15 up, with clean cup, uniformity and sweetness all at full marks. The name means Brazil nuts, and the cup follows: cashew and almond, full body, sweetness and acidity held in balance.

The process

Honey (Pulped Natural)

Ripe cherries are separated from the unripe ones before drying, then the seed dries with its mucilage still attached. Brazilians call it peeled cherry, or pulped natural. It builds an even sweetness and keeps the cup clean.