Farm info

Benedito Aparecido Inácio was born to coffee producers from the state of Paraná. He eventually settled himself in the Chapadão de Ferro microregion of Cerrado Mineiro in the 1990s, primarily providing service for agricultural machinery and leasing his property to local coffee growers. In 2013, he decided to take over management of the coffee crops at his farm, Fazenda Chapadão de Ferro, and has since earned most of his income through his coffee production. 

Within Cerrado, there are many microregions that present unique characteristics in the cup. The Chapadão de Ferro microregion is a small town with farms situated around the cone of a partially formed volcano. Farms here are at higher elevations above 1100 meters and coffee is harvested a month or two later than in other parts of Cerrado Mineiro. 

After taking over management of his farm, Benedito faced challenges early on due to a lack of infrastructure and some knowledge about coffee production in the area. Soon, his son Rafael Inácio completed his degree in Agronomy and returned to join the operations at the farm, helping to develop the crops and achieving high quality results. Today, they cultivate coffee across 18 hectares of the 25 hectare property, drying their crop in their concrete yard for uniform results. 

This lot of Oieras coffee underwent fermented processing.  The Oeiras vareiety was developed at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa in conjuction with the national organization EPAMIG using genes from a hybrid plant resulting from a cross between Red Caturra and the Timor Hybrid. In the field, the trees’ size and productivity is somewhere between Mundo Novo and Red Catuai.

In this process selectively harvested cherries were placed in polypropylene and wrapped in black plastic canvas where they were fermented for 96 hours in an anaerobic environment. The fermented cherries were then dried on a concrete patio to their target humidity and then rested for 30 days before being milled and prepped for export. 

 

Region

Cerrado Mineiro

The Cerrado Mineiro region, located in northwest of Minas Gerais State, is a world-recognized, high-quality coffee producing origin and became the first Protected Geographical Indication in Brazil in 2005, with full Designation of Origin in 2013. A strong characteristic of this region is its well-defined seasons—a hot, wet summer followed by a pleasantly dry winter. The dry climate during harvest eliminates potential problems with humidity during the drying process. 

Minas Gerais is Brazil’s principal agricultural state, and the Cerrado is home to many of the country’s celebrated coffee estates, with expertise in planting, harvesting, drying, and sorting. We love Cerrado coffees for their big body, rich chocolate notes, and velvety texture when pulled as espresso. 

Today, the area’s 4,500 farmers produce a combined average of 6 million bags per harvest, with an average of 35 bags per hectare. To reach these production levels, producers had to first adapt to the region’s conditions. Coffee farmers first arrived in Cerrado in the 1970’s, after being pushed out of the state of Parana by frost and out of the state of Sao Paulo by nematodes. They found the soil in Cerrado to be very acidic, which they rectified with the application of calcium to create the healthy soils they enjoy today. 

Cerrado coffee farms are cultivated in areas with elevations varying between 800 and 1,300 meters above sea level and are known for consistently producing high quality coffees with a repeatable profile. Independent of farm size, the spirit of professionalism is present throughout Cerrado’s coffee producers. Entrepreneurialism is part of farmers’ DNA, and many producers are second or third generation growers who also hold degrees in agronomic engineering, business management, and administration. While each family narrative is different, Cerrado is characterized by an enterprising attitude.