Brazil
Cerrado Mineiro
Joaquim Antonio da Cruz
Fazenda Esmeril Chapadão de Ferro
Red Catuai
Natural
May–August
Milk Chocolate, Brown Sugar, Black Currant
1175 meters
N/A
60 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Joaquim Antonio da Cruz is a third generation coffee producer whose family’s history in the industry stretches back more than a century. His grandfather, Joaquim Antonio do Espírito Santo, moved to the Cerrado Mineiro region in 1900 seeking better living conditions and went on to become one of the region’s pioneering coffee growers. The patriarch passed his love and dedication for coffee to his children, including Joaquim’s father Salvador Antonio da Cruz who would pass the legacy onto Joaquim.
Joaquim worked for 15 years assisting another coffee grower in the region, holding on to the dream of one day buying his own farm. In 1990 he fulfilled that dream when he purchased Fazenda Esmeril Chapadão de Ferro and began planting his own crops. The farm spans 60 hectares in the Cerrado Mineiro’s Chapadão de Ferro microregion, and includes 47 hectares of Catuai, Topazio, and Mundo Novo plants.
Within Cerrado, there are many microregions that present unique characteristics in the cup. The Chapadão de Ferro microregion is a small town with farms situated around the cone of a partially formed volcano. Farms here are at higher elevations above 1100 meters and coffee is harvested a month or two later than in other parts of Cerrado Mineiro.
Today, Joaquim continues his work as a dedicated coffee producer, always seeking the best quality out of his crops. Currently, he works with his sons Daniel Paula Cruz and Felipe Augusto Cruz, who are eager learners and have invested themselves into post-harvest courses as they work to continue improving their post-harvest processes.
This lot of Red 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.
