Brazil
Cerrado Mineiro
Amarildo Borges
Fazenda Santa Cecília
Yellow Catuai
Natural
June–August
Cacao Nib, Plum, Nuts
1075 meters
N/A
60 kg w/ GrainPro
APAC - Sydney - RPM
APAC - Singapore - TVS
APAC - Melbourne - RPM
Amarildo Borges began his coffee career in 1985 farming alongside his father. Production was challenging at the beginning due to low financial reserves and few technological resources, but the passion for the work encouraged him to persist. In 1987, Amarildo married Rosimeire Borges, who also came from a coffee family in the region. Amarildo and his new father-in-law developed a partnership, working together to increase their production area and establishing Fazenda Santa Cecilia as the property it is today.
Fazenda Santa Cecilia spans 128 total hectares and includes 110 hectares of Catuai production. Today, Amarildo’s family lives on property, where his eldest son, Rafael, is now his partner on the property and his youngest son, Eduardo, continues to assist in the fields along with his studies in medicine. The family’s work at the farm aims for sustainable production across all aspects of their work, including ensuring good working conditions to their employees, respecting the local flora and fauna, and a commitment to thoughtful care of the crops and post-harvest processes.
This lot of Yellow Catuai coffee underwent Natural processing. Catuai was developed by the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) of Sao Paulo State in Campinas, Brazil by crossing Mundo Novo and Caturra varieties. Catuai coffees are cultivated widely across Brazil, and are known for their high productivity potential.
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.
