Brazil
Montanhas do Espirito Santo
Luciano Herzog
Sítio Nilza
Red Catuaí
Pulped Natural
June-August
Floral, caramel, yellow fruit, medium body
925 meters
N/A
59kg with liner
SOLD OUT
Luciano Herzog is a descendant of Pomeranians from the area that is now Poland and Germany. He makes up part of the third generation of coffee producers in his family. His grandfather, Mr. Ricardo, was the one who first worked the land that today has its principal activity in coffee cultivation.
Luciano grew up watching his father, Mr. Rodolfo Herzog grow coffee, and from him learned much about how to manage production. Around 1975, Luciano and his siblings together began to depulp their coffee, but at this time there was not much incentive for this kind of project.
In 1991, Luciano married Nilza Braum and inherited part of her father’s land, where he expanded his coffee farm, and continued growing the property by purchasing his brothers’ and his sisters’ coffee plots.
Around 2006, Luciano returned to the initiative his father had started and began depulping coffee using his neighbor’s equipment. Through the added value of the improved coffee quality, he purchased his own equipment in 2008 and from their he and his children began a full-scale quality improvement initiative, which led him to win the the top prize for best coffee in the municipality of Itarana.
Sitio Nilza is located in the Alto Jetibocas community of Itarana and grows coffee on 17 of the farm’s 29 hectares. The property’s elevation ranges from 850-1000 meters above sea level and the coffee flowers from October to December for the harvest from June to August. The farm grows Catucaí, Bourbon, and Yellow Catuaí in addition to the Red Catuaí selected for this lot.
The Montanhas do Espirito Santo region is dominated by small-scale coffee-growers and is characterized by the presence of farmers who are actively engaged in the entire chain of the production process. Growers in Espirito Santo work with family members and build off of traditional knowledge to innovate and improve their quality of life and coffee. Located in the southern area of the Espirito Santo state, where mild temperatures (73ºF) and steep highlands (between 700 and 1,000 meters) favor growing Arabica coffees, this region produces a superb quality coffee with a round body, nice acidity, and fine sweetness. While the most common process for the region is Natural, Pulped Naturals are increasing in popularity.
The state of Espirito Santo has its capital in the city of Vitoria, and the costal location of Espirito Santo to the south of Bahia, east of Minas Gerais, and North of Rio de Janeiro makes it a popular destination for its beaches. Inland, Espirito Santo is home to natural parks and preserves that protect the rich diversity of flora and fauna. Many communities in the mountains of Espirito Santo were settled at the beginning of the twentieth century by European immigrants from Italy and the Pomeranian region along the Baltic Sea coast, straddling the border between what are now Germany and Poland.
