Brazil
Montanhas do Espirito Santo
Arlindo Kuster
Sítio Alto Santa Joana
Catucai
Washed
June–October
Milk Chocolate, Caramel, Apple, Apricot
1020 meters
N/A
60 kg w/ GrainPro
EU - Hamburg, Germany - Schwarze
Sítio Alto Santa Joana is operated by Arlindo Kuster in the Alto Santa Joana community of Espírito Santo State. Coffee was first cultivated on the property by Arlindo’s father, Paulo Kuster, who grew a small amount of coffee intercropped with other plants. Arlindo was the youngest son in the family, and grew up as his father’s companion learning to care for the plants and the property.
Arlindo began making improvements to the farm and his processes to achieve better results from his 15 hectares of coffee plants by adopting new planting techniques and varieties, including Catucai 785 and Yellow 2SL. In 2020, he set up a processing unit and covered drying terrace to produce Pulped Natural coffees, and has been producing high quality lots ever since. Arlindo and his wife, Marlene, continue to grow increasingly excited and committed to taking care of their farm and finding new ways to produce even higher quality.
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 Espírito 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 Espírito Santo state, where mild temperatures (73ºF) and steep highlands (between 700 and 1,000 meters) favor growing Arabica coffees, this region produces a superb quality coffee with a round body, nice acidity, and fine sweetness. While the most common process for the region is Natural, Pulped Naturals are increasing in popularity due to a program of quality launched in the 1980’s that included improvements in equipment necessary for this newer style of processing.
The state of Espírito Santo has its capital in the city of Vitoria, and the coastal location of Espírito 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 diversity of flora and fauna. Many communities in the mountains of Espírito 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.
