Brazil
Cerrado Mineiro DO
Maria Soraia Guimarães
Fazenda Jacu Lugar Tijuco
Arara
Natural
July–August
Blackberry, Nougat, Pomegranate, Lemon
950 meters
Cerrado Mineiro Designation of Origin, Minas Coffee Origins Initiative
60 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Maria Soraia Guimarães began cultivating coffee in the year 2000. She had been hearing from her neighbors in the region that the elevation was favorable to producing high quality coffee and she decided to invest in coffee farming. She and her son Augusto work together on the farm’s 30 hectares of coffee.
Fazenda Jacu Lugar Tijuco is 53 hectares in total located in the Cruzeiro da Fortaleza municipality to the east of Chapadão de Ferro. The elevation ranges from 900 to 1000 meters above sea level and the farm grows Mundo Novo, Topazio, and Catuai varieties of Arabica.
Several years ago, Maria Soraia participated in a workshop about coffee quality and learned more about coffee production. She improved her post-harvest techniques which improved the final quality of her coffee. Each flowering of the coffee trees renews Maria Soraia’s passion for the work she does, and she and Augusto remain dedicated to the land they farm.
Fazenda Jacu Lugar Tijuco is part of the Minas Coffee Origins project. Minas Coffee Origins are controlled origins that take specialty coffee to the next level. Controlled Origins are the product of the “terroir” produced in a demarcated area by the soil, climate, and topography characteristics combined with the production traditions of coffee growers.
These factors together generate coffee with inherent characteristics of the territory. To guarantee its authenticity, it must be produced following the official production process and controlled by an officially recognized association committed to help growers and the development of the coffee region. Maria Soraia participates in the Cerrado Mineiro Designation of Origin program.
This lot of Arara coffee underwent Natural processing. Arara is a natural cross between Obatã and Yellow Catuai discovered in 1988 in the Parana region of Brazil by an agronomist named Francisco Barbosa Lima. The trees are productive and resistant to both drought and leaf rust, making the variety attractive from an agronomic perspective as well as presenting tasty characteristics in the cup.
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 is 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 São 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.
The Cerrado Mineiro Designation of Origin recognizes demarcated territory that produces a product with unique characteristics not found anywhere else. In Brazil, the recognition of the Designation of Origin is made by the INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property. The Cerrado Mineiro Region Designation of Origin includes 55 municipalities that produce coffee with a special cup profile. Coffees from Cerrado Mineiro have a unique identity and quality resulting from the combination of climate, soil, terrain, altitude and know-how of people, from producers to agronomists to warehouse engineers.
In Cerrado Mineiro, there are 234,000 hectares in production, more than 102,000 of which are certified by the Designation of Origin program, and 68,000 hectares use irrigation systems. Coffee from Cerrado Mineiro represents 14.4% of Brazilian production and more than 25% of Minas Gerais production. There are 4,500 coffee growers in Cerrado, and the program represents more than 1,000 producers and farms, and between 60,00-100,000 bags depending on the harvest.
To bear the Cerrado Mineiro designation of Origin seal, coffees meet the following criteria: produced within the defined Cerrado Mineiro area, grown above 800 meters above sea level, variety of Arabica coffee, producer member of one of the 9 cooperatives or 6 associations that make up the Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation, compliant with all Brazilian agricultural best practices laws, cup above 80 points SCA, and be stored in an accredited warehouse. Every year, the third party Totum Institute audits the Cerrado Mineiro Designation of Origin, guaranteeing all procedures adopted in its regulations of use and operation.
