Brazil
Cerrado Mineiro
Leandro Cesar Natal
Fazenda Santa Barbara
Red Catuai
Natural
June–August
Red Fruit, Caramel, Marzipan
960 meters
N/A
60 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Leandro Cesar Natal began his coffee career in 2010 when he was asked to take over the operations of Dirceu Aparecido Piovezan’s Fazenda Santa Barbara in the Cerrado Mineiro region of Brazil. The work was challenging at the start because he had no experience farming coffee, but through discipline, commitment, and the support of his father-in-law Urbano Zanetone, Leandro was able to learn the trade.
When Leandro first arrived at the farm there were 400 hectares of coffee already in production. Since taking over, he has been able to expand that production to cover more than 700 hectares of the 800 hectare property. Today, Leandro’s sense of responsibility encourages and drives his already strong work ethic in order to overcome challenges with the goal to produce the best coffees in a sustainable way.
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.
