SUSTAINABLE COFFEE FROM MELBOURNE COFFEE ROASTERS

Brazil
Alta Mogiana, Minas Gerais
Jean Vilhena Faleiros
Santa Monica Estate
Maragogipe
1200-1240 masl
Anaerobic Intenso Yeast 84 hours

Dark Chocolate, pear and baking spice.

The enduring legacy of the Vilhena Faleiros family: Santa Monica stands as a beacon of excellence in the realm of specialty coffee. As a third generation coffee farmer, Jean Vilhena Faleiros has seen knowledge, dedication and time honored traditions passed down from his family who have owned and operated the Santa Monica Estate for over 100 years. Under Jean's visionary guidance, Santa Monica Farm blends time-honored traditions, a commitment to organic farming and modern techniques, ensuring that the farm grows with both heritage and innovation. 

Processing at Santa Monica: Because anaerobic environments naturally limit the types of microbes that can survive, Jeans pick on these commercial yeasts gives precise control over the microbial activity,  helping him achieve specific sensory profiles, consistent flavours and allowing for highly unique coffees. 

Anaerobic fermentation involves fermenting coffee cherries or beans in sealed in oxygen free tanks. Producers closely monitor the 48 to sometimes several hundred hour fermentation process, keeping an eye on variables like temperature and PH. Inoculated fermentations consume natural sugars in the cherries and beans and produce carbon dioxide. Because carbon dioxide is a heavier element than oxygen, it pushes out any remaining oxygen through the one way tank valve, creating a totally oxygen free environment. 

Santa Monica Farm: In the southeastern region of Brazil, you will find Santa Monica Farm nestled in the Alta Mogiana region of Minas Gerais. The farm sits at an elevation of 1200-1240 meters above sea level, and benefits from an idyllic microclimate which nurtures the finest coffee beans. The reputation of coffee from this area is so prized because of its ideal geography, slow maturation and generational expertise.  

Going Yeast Mode: Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains of yeasts consume the natural sugars in the coffee cherry and bean during the fermentation process, producing compounds which permeate the bean and produce distinct tasting notes like berries, wine, florals and fruit forward profiles. Saccharomyces cerevisiae are widely celebrated in the winemaking and brewing industries and are known for their ability to produce rich aromatic esters. 

Anaerobic Intenso Yeast: this strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast was specifically developed for the post harvest fermentation of coffee. It was developed over a 4 year period by global yeast leaders, Lallemand, and in collaboration with the French agricultural research centre, CIRAD. Its metabolism during the fermentation process drives the intense development of esters and it is widely used by coffee producers for its ability to accentuate floral aromas and tropical fruit characteristics.

Varietals:Just like with wine grapes or apples, coffee has different varieties, which refers to the specific subspecies of coffee plant. Brazil has contributed a lot to the coffee industry, including a seemingly countless number of varieties, mutant hybrids and cultivators which have now spread across the coffee growing world. 

Maragogype, varietal in Lot 39C, is a typica derivative, a rare and low yielding varietal that was discovered near the city of Maragogripe in Bahi (neighbouring state to Minas Gerais) in the 1870s. Maragogype beans are famous for their unusually large size, seeing the plant grow much taller, producing large leaves, cherries and beans.

Geography is where it's at: The Global Coffee belt runs along the earth's equator, between the Tropics of Cancer, and the Tropics of Capricorn. It is defined by its latitude, sitting almost entirely between 25° North to 30° South. It is here that coffee plants thrive, receiving consistent warm temperatures, high altitudes, abundant wet seasons followed by dry periods and rich mineral dense soils. 

Brazil’s latitude ranges from 15°16’ North to 33°44’ South. The country covers 4,395km from top to bottom, with landmass in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Almost all of the country sits within the Global Coffee Belt, and is one of many factors making Brazil such a successful coffee producing country. 

Keep an eye out for Jean Vilhena Faleiros: We are very excited to be welcoming back another stellar line up of coffees from Jean Vilhena Faleiros. This time around you will see 4 microlots from Jean Vilhena Faleiros Santa Monica Farm in Brazil on our filter menu as well as 1 on our espresso menu over the coming months. Across these lots you will see a mixture of varietals as well as processing methods. We are lucky enough to see the use of specific cultivated yeast strands during anaerobic fermentation on four out of the five of these coffees! It’s with great pleasure that we are able to share his fresh harvest with you again.

Ethiopia
Chelbesa, Danche
Small holder Farmers
Danche Washing Station
Mixed heirloom / Ethiopian landrace
2100 masl
Hydro honey

Apricot, lemonade, strawberries and cream.

Birthplace of coffee: Ethiopia holds a legendary status in the coffee world- it’s not just the birthplace of Arabica coffee but also a place where coffee has been an integral part of daily life for centuries. Unlike most other coffee-producing countries, Ethiopia didn’t start growing coffee as a colonial cash crop. Instead, coffee has always been a local tradition, grown and loved by communities. For a lot of us coffee-obsessed folk, Ethiopian Coffee will always hold a special place. 

Varietal: Heirloom is an umbrella term used to identify the abundance of wild indigenous coffees that grow in Ethiopia. The country has seen a plethora of wonderful breeding, cross-breeding, and endlessly mutating coffee varietals that number in the thousands. As is often the case, once a desirable varietal is discovered (usually with particular flavour attributes in mind), it will be separated and cultivated on a small farm where it may later be identified as a new varietal. This is one of the things that makes sampling and selecting heirloom varietals so enticing--a surprise almost always awaits.

Measuring Brix: At the Danche Washing Station, coffee is tested to determine the sugar content of freshly harvested cherries before they are processed. Just like a refractometer we use to calculate the TDS of coffee, a liquid sample of cherry juice is loaded into the lens of the refractometer and a calculation to determine the amount of dissolved solids (sugar) is made by measuring how the light bends through the juice. The Brix refractometer provides a reading in degrees Brix (°Bx). 1°Bx equals 1g of sucrose (sugar) in a 100g solution, giving the percentage of sugar by mass. Only coffee with a reading of 20°Bx or higher reading is chosen for this coffee.

Hydro Honey: This rare processing method merges elements of the washed, natural and honey process to deliver a high quality cup. 

• After the juiciest and sweetest cherries are selected, they undergo mechanical sorting to eliminate any impurities. 

• Cherries are then floated, to remove any defective, underripe or overripe fruit which would float to the top, with the dense, high quality cherries sinking to the bottom. 

• After all of that sorting the cherries are left to dry for 48 hours on shaded drying beds. 

• Tankers are smoked with olive tree trunks before cherries and water are placed inside to soak and rehydrate the beans. 

• In the tanks the coffee cherry then ferments for 48 hours (24hours anaerobic, 24hours aerobic).

• Cherries are removed from the tanks and are left to dry for approx 25 days. 

Danche Washing Station: was established in 2019 and receives coffee from over 900 farmers. Danche Washing station is located in Chelbesa in the Gadeb district of the country's south.  This washing station gets coffee from over 900 smallholders who nurture land in the surrounding region. In a unique microclimate under the shade of the native forest, cherries are selectively picked with quality and sorting controls in place. We are very excited to be roasting this coffee from this highly sought after region of Ethiopia. 

Nyeri

Gachatha
Microlot
1800 masl
Batian, SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11
Washed

Plum, cooked apple and caramel.

Nyeri Nitisols: The Aberadare Mountains combined with neighbouring Mount Kenya, creates the perfect microclimate for Nyeri. Here at high altitudes, Nyeri benefits from the region's porous, highly fertile, nutrient rich volcanic soils known as Nitisol. Nitisols are typically derived from parent materials like volcanic ash or basalt. The unique soil is highly acidic, loaded with organic matter and has excellent drainage and strong structural stability, giving coffee from this region its distinct winey or juicy acidity.  

Micro Microlots: In Kenya, microlots are either traceable to a specific factory like Gachatha, or sometimes down to individual farms. Small batches known as 'day lots' are graded and separated out, based on how good they taste in the cup. Since most Kenyan farmers only have 1/8–1/4 of a hectare, this sort of blended Coop processing is the most common in Kenya, with local farmers usually bringing their cherries to a nearby factory.

Blended microlot, blended varieties: This particular lot isn’t from a single variety, but a tasty blend of Batian, SL34, and Ruiru 11--some of Kenya’s best-known coffee cultivars.

Gachatha Factory: Between the villages of Muthuaini, Thiriku, Gachenge and Kianjau sits Gachatha Factory. This factory was built in 1963 and is operated by the Gachatha Farmers Cooperative Society. Gachatha Factory has 9 permanent employees who oversee roles such as receiving cherries and managing farmer payments. During harvest season the factory hires around 25 seasonal workers to support receipting and processing. Gachatha, being between so many villages, has built soak pits for water treatment to avoid contaminating water sources as well as following other precautions with regards to waste water and pollutants. There is a big focus from local communities as well as the factory, on preserving the indigenous plant life in that area, to protect local wildlife.

Honduras Los Pinos

Remiery Orlando Carvajal Guevara

Equiapara, San Andrez, Lempira

Honduras

Typica

1,650 masl

Washed

Fruit cake, orange and caramel.

Excellence at Los Pinos: Reniery Orlando Carvajal Guevara grew up watching his grandparents cultivate traditional coffee varietals and has dedicated more than 25 years to coffee farming. Orlando and his wife had always dreamed of producing large quantities of high quality coffee in Honduras. To make this dream come true, Orlando moved to America and after 2 years of hard work returned home with the finances to get their dream off the ground. What began as a childhood dream, has become both his passion and his family's legacy. His dedication has been recognised through the Honduras Cup of Excellence, an achievement that opened doors to international markets and strengthened his commitment to continuous improvement. They placed 2nd in 2018, 6th place 2019, 6th and 7th 2023, 5th 2025. 

Secret Sauce: When asked what techniques had been implemented to make Los Pinos so successful in the Cup of Excellence program, Orlando said caring about the attributes and qualities of their coffee. Every harvest reflects the values of hard work, perseverance, and respect for the land. This is done by fertilizing, spraying and regulating shadows to disinfect the soil to make it a nursery. Orlando balanced the acidity of the soil with lime juice and Los Pinos sees daily pulping at the farm, to make sure nothing is overfermented. 

Project investments: After their success at the Honduras Cup of Excellence across multiple years, Reniery said he will invest part of his return into the facilities and introducing new techniques for coffee washing and drying. Another area where he wishes to invest is in the education of his daughters and their family projects.