Fazenda Paraiso, Brazil

This special long-fermented batch comes from producer Amarildo José Borges and his Fazenda Paraiso farm near the town of Carmo do Paranaiba in the Cerrado region. The farm is 170ha and spans elevations of 1,000-1,150 masl. To process this batch, the cherries were fermented for 72h and then sun-dried in cement patios.

Coffee was first cultivated in the Cerrado Mineiro in the 1970s by farmers from Paraná and São Paulo. Using a technique that corrects soil acidity and irrigation, large-scale cultivation has been made possible. It has around 4,500 farmers cultivating a combined area of ​​210,000ha. The Cerrado Mineiro features a dry climate during the harvest period, which causes the coffee to suffer less humidity after harvest, allowing for a consistent drying process. The region, which covers 55 municipalities in total, achieved the Denomination of Origin in 2013 and was the first region in the country to receive this recognition.

“I started in the world of coffee in 1985 when I planted my first 7ha. Over the years I went through economic, environmental, and other difficulties, gained experience and overcame all adversities with my family. After going through these difficult periods, I expanded my farm, investing in structure and quality. Today my property results in high-yield crops and exceptional flavors” - Amarildo José Borges.

American colonists had been drinking coffee for 50 years before the first coffee seed was planted in Brazil in 1727. One hundred years later, Brazil accounted for 30% of the world’s coffee supply. One hundred years after that, in the 1920s, Brazil had a virtual monopoly and produced 80% of the world’s coffee. Although Brazil’s market share peaked at 80% in the 1920s, its status as the world’s largest coffee producer still gives the country considerable influence over the coffee market and prices. It is said that when Brazil sneezes, the coffee world catches a cold. In 1975, a “black frost” destroyed more than 70% of the crop in Brazil, and coffee prices doubled worldwide. Brazil was a founding member of the Pan-American Coffee Bureau, which invented the concept of the “coffee break” during an advertising campaign in the early 1950s.