Unusually for this region, this cup is very fruit-forward, underpinned by a more typical rich Brazilian sweetness.

Sul de Minas

Fazenda Juquinha

Together they set about creating a sustainable business, and for them this meant aiming for high quality coffee - concentrating on soil health, educating themselves on fermentation and lot separation, and building African drying beds. The farm is now 10 ha, planted in 11 lots which are kept separate throughout processing. The farm is located just outside the town of Maria da Fé, in southern Minas Gerais.

Unlike many farms in the region, picking is done almost exclusively manually, meaning no compromise with the ripeness of cherries taken to the fermentation tanks. This also means that the harvest at Juquinha finishes approximately a month later than many surrounding farms, allowing longer time for cherry to mature, building up sugar content and complexity of flavour. These cherries are carefully fermented in open tanks then dried on raised beds, allowing for one of the most unique Brazilian lots we have tasted recently.

Our partners at Nordic Approach have been buying from Fazenda Juquinha since 2019, and have been very impressed by the improvements in quality for this harvest, mainly driven by improved fermentation protocols. Here we find an impressive fresh fruit character that is often lacking in Brazilian coffee, with a juicy feel to the sweetness and acidity balance.