Bela Vista is located in the town of São Gonçalo do Sapucaí bordering the town of Campanha, in the South of Minas Gerais. The altitude helps us a lot. This coffee comes from the highest part of the farm at 1270m. The air is cool and gentle. The plot is new too. We bought it 7 years ago.
Before Bela Vista, we were not full-time farmers. My father inherited a tiny piece of land (1 hectare) and we started growing coffee on it. Most of the time we were still picking at the neighbouring farms. It was only when we started harvesting our own that we became able to put some money together to expand. And now we have pickers working for us.
From pickers to farmers: my family started in coffee from the bottom
This year’s harvest was a blast. Maturation was good and so homogenous that the pickers who work with me had a laugh. My farm is too steep for mechanical harvesters, so I always bring folks from the North of Minas Gerais to pick coffee and host them for 3 months. This year, with COVID, they all had to self-isolate when they came, but the weather was a blessing. The rain patterns were perfect, with just a little bit of rain at the end of the drying season.
History When we acquired Bela Vista, we had already heard that higher altitudes were better for the quality of the coffee. They are also harder to manage because of the plot inclination and they tend to produce less. That actually made them cheaper at the time. When we bought Belva Vista it was cheaper than the lower altitude plots and it was all we could afford. The irony!
I started working with specialty coffee around 2010. It was thanks to my friend Alessandro, who was the first place in this competition. At the time, he was the president of APAS Coffee. Two years after I started I gave up. I couldn’t see the results and thought nothing of the project. Alessandro came to me and insisted that I carried on. That I had good coffee. “You have to believe in it,” he said. So I did. And I’m happy about it. When I saw the results of Algrano’s competition I texted Alessandro straight away. “I owe it to you,” I said.
We are seeing great achievements thanks to the support of my family and my great friend Alessandro Hervaz
Slow, steady, together Since then we sold coffees to other countries and began seeing clients ask for bigger quantities. We also have qualified to some local competitions and got really good prices for our coffees. “Slow and steady will get you to where you want to go.” That is the saying. This is how it’s been for us. Coffee is a long term investment. I see people jumping on coffee because they saw some farmers making some money but they don’t last. They don't think about all we did back then, in the early days.
I also need to thank my family. Togetherness is what got us through. We have our plots together and we look after them as one. Many farmers fail in this because they are stubborn and try to do everything by themselves. We share each other’s losses and, of course, the gains.
The competition
The competition jury in Brazil: Jack (right), William (centre) and Francisco (left)
*This coffee was scrutinized by 4 certified Q-Graders in 2 countries for the competition process with rigorous sensorial and physical analysis. Differences in cupping scores and notes are due to the use of different roast machines and lab setups. As the selection of the lots and the rankings happened in Brazil, the jury's score was kept as the main quality evaluation on the lot information page. Read the information below for more detail.
Algrano's QC Q-Grader: Veronika Kečkéšová Location: Zurich, Switzerland Roaster: IKAWA Total roasting time: 6'50" to 7' First crack: Around 5¨45", 194 to 196 degrees Celsius DTR: 65" to 70" Score: 86.5. Primary notes of Milk chocolate, Red berries, Toffee. Secondary notes: Citrus fruit, Herbal, Black currant. Lingering, juicy and sweet finish and round smooth body.
"Very well balanced with mild citric acidity and smooth body, the aftertaste is however what makes it stand out- sweet, lingering and juicy." - Veronika
Jury’s QC Q-Grader: Jack Robson, Francisco Lentini Neto and William Batista Mariano Location: Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil Roaster: Speciatto, Carmomaq Total roasting time: 8' to 9' Drying phase: 4' to 5' Maillard phase: 3' DTR: 50" to 70" Other comments: Agtron 63-65 Screen size: 16/18 (1% below)
The process
Manual picking using the “derriça” or stripping method. This coffee was so ripe and maturation so even we didn’t have to wash it for sorting. We took it to the patio to dry straight away. The process took 12 days. I started spreading the cherries in thin layers and then made them ticker after a few days, always moving the coffees every 40 minutes.
Fomos nascidos e criados nessa propriedade, onde se tornou especial para nós. A propriedade foi herança de nossos avós. Não havia plantação de café ,começamos aos poucos , em 1994 plantamos nossa primeira lavoura apenas 1ha ( por coincidência ou não, temos outras lavouras ,porém, nenhuma consegue bater a qualidade dessa primeira lavoura plantada). Meu Pai e meus irmãos que realizamos toda mão de obra da fazenda, o que torna ela Familiar. Estamos todos os anos participando dos concursos, sempre procurando a cada ano melhorar ainda mais a qualidade do nosso produto.
Shipping
Once the ordering period ends we will consolidate all coffees in a shared container. During transport, your coffee is fully insured. We will keep you informed about the shipment status.
Upon arrival of the coffee at the warehouse, you can choose between 2 delivery modes:
Doorstep delivery: We will take care of transport to your roastery. We will provide your coffee fully insured until it is ready for unloading from the truck at your roastery.
EXW (ex. warehouse) means that we will provide the coffee ready for pick-up at the terminal of the warehouse. You are responsible for organising transport and insurance from the warehouse to your roastery.
Currently, we can deliver coffee anywhere in Europe, except Hungary. For all European buyers, the coffee will be provided custom cleared in any case. Roasters in Switzerland choosing EXW will be responsible for customs clearance.
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