Brazil

Dois Irmãos

Deep chocolate and stewed red apple

This lot by Maria Gabriela Baracat Sanchez showcases sweet and heavy chocolate and hazelnut, lifted by stewed red apple.

Maria Gabriela Baracat Sanchez is a fourth generation coffee producer, taking over from her father and uncle, the two brothers or ‘Dois Irmãos’.

Producer
Gabriela Sanchez
Coffee expression
A sweet & rich coffee

Regular price: $18.00
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Sale price: $18.00
incl. vat/tax
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Gabriela has had a huge impact on the approach to both quality and farming here, modernising the family business.

Producer

Maria Gabriela Baracat Sanchez

Maria Gabriela Baracat Sanchez is a fourth generation coffee producer. She recently took over the running of Fazenda Dois Irmãos completely from her father, Evandro, but has been working here since 2001, when she graduated as an agronomist. She has four brothers, but bucked the trend by taking over her father’s business as a woman. Her approach has had a huge effect on the coffee the farm produces, and the way in which it is produced.

A new approach to quality

The farm previously produced only commercial grade coffees. As Gabriela’s influence began to increase, she researched the possibility of producing higher grade coffees, and encouraged her father to experiment. In 2016, the farm converted to 100% speciality coffees, and won the regional ‘Best of Cerrado’ the next year. Dois Irmãos also won ‘Best of Brazil’ in 2020.

The quality potential of the land here is immense, Evandro and Gabriela’s uncle Helio spent many years searching for the perfect spot to start their project, the two brothers or ‘Dois Irmãos’. Their land near Coromandel in the Cerrado Mineiro region has slowly expanded since starting in the late 80’s, and now Gabriela watches over 402 hectares of land. Maria’s approach to quality, experimenting with drying, with soil health, and with new varietals. The 68 varietals in the Dois Irmãos garden are constantly monitored, trying to find the best varietal to use when refreshing each plot.

Regenerative agriculture

Gabriela has also pushed the farm in a modern direction in the field. Aiming to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of Dois Irmãos, Gabriela engaged Regenagri, a British certification agency that analyse regenerative agriculture and perform in depth greenhouse gas accounting of agricultural activities. They have assisted Gabriela in several areas of sustainable development, including using rainwater harvesting to irrigate her fields, maintaining the best possible combination of plants alongside her coffee in order to sequester carbon in the soil, calculating emissions from mechanical driers and fertilisers and proposing reduction strategies. Each area of operations was finely tuned, and Gabriela was very proud to become only the second coffee farm to gain Regenagri’s Carbon Neutral certification in 2022.

Natural Catuai

This lot is from Gabriela’s stock of the Catuai varietal, processed as a natural. This provides the heavy and sweet chocolate and hazelnut flavours we so appreciate in the Cerrado Mineiro region, lifted by a sweet stewed red apple finish.

Technical Data

Producer
Gabriela Sanchez
Region
Cerrado Mineiro
Altitude
1200 masl
Varietal
Catuai
Process
Natural
Harvest
August 2022

Natural Process

The natural, or dry process, is the traditional process, going back generations. When accomplished in a controlled and careful manner, dry processed coffees can produce flavour experiences not found in wet processed coffees, deep fruits and florals, normally with heavier mouthfeel and lower acidity. The cherries are first sorted, and then laid out on in thin layers (2-6 cm) on raised drying beds. These are almost always used for high quality naturals, as they aid airflow around the coffee as it dries, enabling more even drying.

It is very important that coffees are sorted very carefully early on in the drying process, as all of the cherries quickly turn dark brown, making it impossible to separate under and overripe cherries. The cherries are turned frequently to avoid mold formation or over-fermentation, until they reach a moisture content of below 20%, and the outer cherry layer shrinks and blackens. This process takes between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on weather conditions.