Region: Cerrado Mineiro

Boa Vista

This lot was grown on Daterra’s original farm, Boa Vista. Much of their processing, experimentation and quality control takes place here. This lot is made possible only by Cerrado Mineiro’s unique conditions. The long, warm and dry harvest season means that many cherries start to dry on the tree under the powerful Brazilian sun, shrinking and wrinkling like raisins. This process is known as a ‘Cerrado natural’ in the area, and was used by many farmers for much of their crop until technology increased to allow much more control over mechanical harvesting. Due to the use of mechanical harvesting, each harvested batch contains a mix of underripe, ripe, overripe and these raisin-like dried cherries. Daterra’s ingenious mechanical separation system is based on flotation, before a series de-pulpers with varying levels of pressure between the jaws allows for separation of levels of ripeness. The tree-dried cherries float, and can’t be de-pulped due to their hardened dry skin, so enter a separate stage of the process. They are then dried on patios.

The extra time on the tree leads to an incredible concentration of sugars, and minimal fermentation during the drying on the patios. This results in a cup with an intense rich sweetness, reminiscent of dried fruit, a full and velvety body, and notes of ripe tropical fruit.