Brazil
Gil Cesar de Melo
Cerrado Mineiro
1,100 - 1,250 masl
Arara
Aerobic Natural

Forest fruits, toffee apple, and caramel.

Drop the pin: Cerrado Mineiro is located in the Northwestern part of the state of Minas Gerais in Southeastern Brazil. This area is one of Brazil’s most renowned coffee growing regions. It benefits from a unique climate - hot, rainy summers which favour healthy development and dry, mild winters that allow for controlled and consistent post-harvest processing. Combine this with the region's high altitude plateau and nutrient rich soil, and we have some pretty great coffee growing conditions. Tucked away in the hills of Nyeri County sits the Kieni washing station. Kieni washing station is one of the five washing stations managed by the Mugaga Farmers’ Cooperative Society. In the quiet village of Konyu, Kieni washing station works with around 1,000 smallholder farmers who bring their fresh coffee cherries here for processing.

Coffee is not a crop. It is lineage: Gil César de Melo is a third generation coffee farmer whose dedication to coffee was shaped by grandfather, Sir Miguel Constante, and mother, Elizena. Gil planted his first 6 hectares in the mid 90’s and over time, these plantings evolved into Fazenda Espigão. In 2013 this region of Cerrado Mineiro became Brazil’s first Designation of Origin (D.O) for coffee. Gil knew that terrain alone would not create excellence and through dedication to post harvest techniques and processes, he has built quality through precision!

Designation of Origin: Identifies products, like coffee, wine, cheeses ect. whose qualities are exclusively or essentially tied to a unique geographical environment. This takes into account the territory’s climate, soil or the human expertise and how that directly creates the products unique characteristics. Cerrado Mineiro was the first region in Brazil to receive the D.O status for coffee.

Tell us about the process! Coffee is harvested mechanically at the farm. After being washed and sorted only the ripest cherries are selected to be sealed in airtight, oxygen and water free containers to ferment for 96-158 hours. After dry anaerobic fermentation, the tanks undergo thermal shock. This involves ‘shocking’ the tanks with alternating hot and cold water to lock in flavours and enhance clarity. After this step the beans are centrifuged, spun really fast to remove excess water, before being slow dried on the patio for 16-21 days.