Brazil-Natural-Fazenda Santa Ines-Yellow Burbon

Crafted from the misty slopes of Brazil’s Mantiqueira highlands, roasted to share its warm, inviting heart. Let’s explore the details, history, and journey of this microlot from Carmo de Minas—a smooth, comforting cup shaped by family legacy, innovative grit, and a sun-kissed natural process that amplifies its inherent sweetness.

Cupping Notes: Cocoa and fresh fruit flavors with balanced acidity and sweetness—a cozy, rounded profile with chocolate depth and subtle berry brightness, thanks to its Yellow Bourbon roots and the natural method’s gentle fruit embrace.

Farm & Region: Fazenda Santa Ines, Carmo de Minas, southern Minas Gerais. This 215-hectare estate, cradled at the foot of the Mantiqueira mountains, is a cornerstone of Brazil’s specialty scene—one of the original “Carmo Coffees” farms, where rolling hills, fertile red soils, and mild microclimates (around 22°C year-round) yield some of the world’s most celebrated Arabica. Carmo de Minas, a cluster of 20 villages in Sul de Minas, has exploded from regional obscurity to global acclaim over the last 15 years, snagging over 358 Cup of Excellence awards and redefining Brazil beyond commodity bulk.

A cherished heirloom: Yellow Bourbon. This golden-fruited mutation of the classic Bourbon—first spotted in São Paulo’s Botucatu fields in the 1930s—brings vigor and nuance, with cherries that ripen to a sunny yellow hue, packing fructose-rich sweetness and a silky body.

Yellow Bourbon: A natural hybrid of Red Bourbon and Yellow Typica (itself a 1871 Typica mutation), rediscovered and propagated in the 1940s for its superior yields and cup quality—sweet, complex, and resilient, though prone to rust, it thrives in Minas’ volcanic loam.

Elevation: 900–1050 MASL. These mid-high slopes temper ripening with cool nights and gentle days, concentrating sugars for that cocoa-fruit harmony without sharp edges.

History: The Story of Brazil’s coffee saga began in the 1720s with a smuggled Typica seedling from French Guiana, igniting a boom that by the 1830s made the nation the world’s top exporter—30% of global supply, fueling empires and abolition alike. Minas Gerais, born from an 18th-century gold rush (“General Mines”), pivoted to coffee in the 1820s as gold veins ran dry. Plantations surged in the Zona da Mata region, powered by enslaved labor until the 1888 Lei Áurea freed over 700,000, ushering in European immigrants via “colonization companies” to till the red-earth fazendas. The “café com leite” era (1880s–1930s) locked São Paulo and Minas in a political tango, with coffee valorization schemes (like the 1906 Taubaté Treaty) stockpiling surpluses to prop prices amid overproduction crashes.
Sul de Minas, with its misty Mantiqueira ridges, emerged as the heartland—small farms (10–100 hectares) dominating, producing 30% of Brazil’s Arabica today. Coffee leaf rust hit hard in the 1970s, wiping Paraná’s fields and forcing Minas growers to innovate with rust-resistant hybrids. Enter the Pereira family: In 1967, Isidro Pereira bought their first farm; by 1979, sons José Isidro and in-laws took over Fazenda Santa Ines, a pre-planted 215-hectare spread. Facing Carmo’s quality woes—overripe cherries, uneven drying—they hired agronomists, planted Yellow Bourbon pioneers, and built concrete patios, washers, and dryers. The gamble paid off: By 2005, a Santa Ines lot shattered records with a 95.85 Cup of Excellence score, catapulting the farm (and Carmo) to stardom.
Today, managed by the third generation, Santa Ines embodies resilience—35 resident families get housing, milk, meds, and soccer fields, plus subsidies for regional youth via CriaCarmo. Amid Brazil’s 3.7 million-ton annual haul (40% of the world’s coffee), this microlot channels a quiet revolution: From bulk exporter to terroir-driven specialty, with co-ops like CarmoCoffees pooling smallholder lots for global roasters. Picture the fazenda as a self-sustaining haven—cows grazing amid coffee rows, workers’ kids bused to school, all under Mantiqueira’s watchful peaks, 300 km from Santos port.

Harvest & Processing

When: Rains taper by April in Sul de Minas, ripening cherries for May–August— a crisp dry spell (humidity dipping to 60%) that lets fruit swell with sugars at 900–1050 MASL, where diurnal swings (warm days, cool 15°C nights) build balanced density. How: Topography demands hand-picking—workers (often family crews) strip branches onto cloths below trees, dodging contamination from soil or overripe drops. Only peak-ripe yellow cherries go in, yielding 50–100 kg/day per picker for quality microlots. Who: 35 full-time staff plus seasonal hands from Olimpio Noronha (3 km away)—a communal rhythm honed over generations, with cherries rushed to on-site patios to kick off processing.

How: **Full Natural Process**:

Here’s the step-by-step that crafts Fazenda Santa Ines’ plush cup:
Sorting & Pre-Drying: Cherries arrive by midday, floated in tanks to skim floaters (underripe/low-density). Sorted lots stay segregated—Yellow Bourbons tracked for their premium arc. Whole-Fruit Drying: Spread thin (2–3 cm) on raised concrete patios or African beds, raked 4–6 times daily under May’s fierce sun. The intact skin ferments lightly over 10–21 days, sugars seeping into the bean for cocoa depth and fruit whispers—humidity monitored to avoid defects, with night covers preventing dew. Mechanical Finish: Once at 35–40% moisture (cherry shrivels), transferred to static-bed dryers (slow heat, 35–40°C) for 3–5 days, hitting 11–12% for stability. This hybrid guards against rain risks in Minas’ variable weather. Resting & Milling: Parchment hulled after 30–60 days’ rest in ventilated sheds, then graded by density/size at CarmoCoffees’ mill—export-ready via Santos, 1,000+ km southeast.

Why Process This Way?

Flavor & Fermentation Magic: Natural’s skin-on drying infuses berry-cocoa notes, amplifying Yellow Bourbon’s fructose for mellow sweetness over washed clarity—perfect for Carmo’s balanced terroir, chasing 85+ scores without funk risks. Efficiency in Scale: Brazil’s dry climate suits naturals (90% of output), but Santa Ines refines it with tech—patios for evenness, dryers for control—turning potential defects into plush body. Terroir Tie-In: Mantiqueira’s red basaltic soils and 1,500–1,800 mm rains (November–March) yield dense cherries; naturals preserve that, while elevation softens acidity for approachable warmth.

Why Fazenda Santa Ines Stands Out? This Fully Natural Process Yellow Bourbon is a toast to Brazil’s bold pivot—from rust-ravaged fields to record-shattering cups—where Pereira perseverance, Yellow Bourbon rarity, and natural finesse brew a legacy in every sip!