Brazil
Montanhas do Espirito Santo
Délio Sering
Sítio Alto Lagoa
Catucai
Washed
June–September
Blackberry, Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Citrus
995 meters
N/A
60 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Sítio Alto Lagoa is owned and operated by Délio Sering and his family in the Afonso Claudio municipality of Espírito Santo. Délio’s grandfather originally purchased the property, which was then inherited by Délio’s father Nivaldo Sering in the 1970s. Nivaldo planted the first coffee trees on the land, and worked producing conventional coffee there for many years.
In 2007, Nivaldo shared the land with Délio and his sister. Délio assumed management of the property from his father, continuing in the tradition of producing conventional coffee. In 2009 however, his friend and neighbor Valdir Mansk encouraged him to focus on producing high quality specialty coffee, capitalizing on the quality production conditions of the area. From then on, Délio began making improvements to the property and operations, building terraces to better dry the coffee and adopting selective harvesting techniques on the farm.
Today, Délio works with his family, including his wife Irinéia Ratwik and their son Mikael, focused on quality and on continuous improvement in their product. The seven hectare farm is planted with four hectares of Catuai and Catucai trees, producing approximately 150 bags of coffee annually.
This lot of Catucai underwent Washed processing. Catucai was developed as a cross between Icatu and Catuai. The first selection was made in 1988 by researchers at the then Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC) in a population of the Red Icatu cultivar. After generations of breeding and selection in both Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, the program gave rise to cultivars with red fruits and yellow fruits, then named Catucai.
The Montanhas do Espírito Santo region is dominated by small-scale coffee growers and is characterized by the presence of farmers who are actively engaged in the entire chain of the production process. Growers in Espirito Santo work with family members and build off of traditional knowledge to innovate and improve their quality of life and coffee. Located in the southern area of the Espirito Santo state, where mild temperatures (73ºF) and steep highlands (between 700 and 1000 meters) favor growing Arabica coffees, this region produces a superb quality coffee with a round body, nice acidity, and fine sweetness. Pulped Naturals are increasing in popularity as a processing style to capture the attributes of the region’s coffee.
The state of Espirito Santo has its capital in the city of Vitoria, and the coastal location of Espirito Santo to the south of Bahia, east of Minas Gerais, and north of Rio de Janeiro makes it a popular destination for its beaches. Inland, Espirito Santo is home to natural parks and preserves that protect the rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. Many communities in the mountains of Espirito Santo were settled at the beginning of the twentieth century by European immigrants from Italy and the Pomeranian region along the Baltic Sea coast, straddling the border between what are now Germany and Poland.
