Farm info

Elias Santana and Maria Irene are children of coffee growers in the Cachoeirinha community of the Mantiqueira de Minas growing region of Brazil. They married in the 1990s and decided to continue together in the business of coffee. They bought their first piece of land in the community where they both grew up, and committed themselves to producing high quality coffees through the dedication and love for the work that they had learned from their families.

The couple are part of AMECAFÉ Mantiqueira (The Association of Coffee Women Entrepreneurs in Serra da Mantiqueira) and receive ongoing support from the association. AMECAFÉ was founded in 2017 and now includes 130 producers, providing professional development and other events for women producers in the region.

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.

Region

Mantiqueira de Minas

Located on the northern side of the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range in the southern part of the state of Minas Gerais, the Mantiqueira de Minas region is a demarcated area of 25 municipalities. It is officially recognized as an Indication of Origin for its tradition and worldwide reputation of producing coffees with unique sensory profiles.

Most producers in the region are smallholders who operate family farms. The region is differentiated by the unique terrain and the resulting characteristics that the terroir leads to in the cup. Coffees from Mantiqueira de Minas reflect both the place itself and the committed work of its producers. Mantiqueira includes more than 8,200 producers, 82% of whom are smallholders, and 56,000 hectares of mountain land planted with coffee. Most harvesting is still completed manually, and this and other practices keep the regional cultural heritage of coffee farming alive while at the same time pursuing new flavors.