About the coffee:

Our Brazil coffee comes from a single estate, Fazenda Riacho Doce (meaning “sweet water stream”) on the Vitoria da Conquista plateau, in the town of Barra do Choca, in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Ripe cherry was harvested during the day and taken to the washing station on the farm at the end of the afternoon where it was de-pulped and left to rest in fermentation tanks for 12 to 15 hours. (In Brazil, washed coffees that undergo this fermentation step are referred to as fully washed.) After fermentation, the beans were washed and sent to slowly dry in greenhouses.

About the region:

Planalto da Bahia is a large plateau in the middle of one the driest parts of the northern region of Caatinga. It’s a diverse region, with small farms and large enterprises, and is known for a fully washed process done in fermentation tanks; combined with the terroir and special post-harvest process, it results in a very unique cup.

The region’s microclimate impacts the coffee trees’ behavior, production cycle, harvest and post-harvest processes. The harvesting starts later than in other regions, and abundant rains encourage multiple flowerings, which results in uneven maturation and means the harvesting must be done carefully by hand.

About the local producer:

Marinalva Ivo das Neves (Nalva, to her friends) has been running her farm since 1986. She told us:

“In the beginning, I had a lot of difficulties, mainly because of a lack of financial resources and knowledge about how to handle the land. But I was always a curious lady ... I used to stop my car at unknown coffee plantations to get to know other farmers and see what they were doing. I also became a constant presence in technical meetings, lectures about coffee and started to read a lot of material about coffee. I guess that my curiosity and passion for coffee are what made my fate as a successful coffee grower, even while going through other difficulties beyond my control, such as adverse weather conditions and long cycles of low prices.”

Geography:

Region: Planalto da Bahia

Altitude: 960 meters

Variety:

Yellow and red Catuai

Processing:

Fully washed and dried in greenhouses

Brewing instructions:

Auto drip:

• Grind size: coarse sea salt

• Ratio: 1 3/4 tablespoons of ground coffee per 1 cup of water

• Brew time: ~4 minutes

French Press:

• Grind size: pretzel salt

• Ratio: 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per 1 cup of water

• Brew time: 4 minutes

Pour over:

• Grind size: kosher salt

• Ratio: 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per 1 cup of water

• Brew time: 3-4 minutes