Brazil
Mantiqueira de Minas
Maria Irene Nogueira Silva
Sítio Cachoeirinha
Red Catuai
Fermented Natural
July–August
Milk Chocolate, Honey, Raspberry
1150 meters
N/A
60 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Maria Irene Nogueira Silva was born to coffee growers in the Cachoeirinha community of the Mantiqueira de Minas growing region of Brazil. She married her husband, Elias Santana de Oliveira e Silva, in the 1990s and they 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 Fermented Natural processing. Freshly harvested cherries were fermented in black canvas prior to being dried on a concrete patio. 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.
This coffee was one of the top 6 entries in the Fermented Coffee category of a competition held by AMECAFÉ Mantiqueira (The Association of Coffee Women Entrepreneurs in Serra da Mantiqueira) in October 2023. The association was founded in 2017 and now includes 130 producers, providing professional development and other events for women producers in the region.
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.
