Brazil – Minas Gerais

This coffee comes from Santa Rita de Cássia Farm, owned and operated by Carlos Henrique, and daughter Dani Alkmin. Carlos purchased the farm back in 1983, and has expanded slowly through the years to the current 78 hectares. Their farm is situated on the sloping hills of the Serra da Mantiqueira in Carmo de Minas, and spans a steep incline of 910 to 1250 meters above sea level. In addition to the standard dry process and pulp natural coffees, they also produce a small amount of honey process, which is what this lot is. Honey processing is actually very similar to pulp natural in that the outer cherry is removed, but the sticky mucilage is left intact. With honeys, a thicker layer of fruit is left intact with the seed during the drying phase, which can affect the cup in different ways, like enhance body, and sweetness.

Grinding the coffee released a very nice scent of brown sugars, malty accents, and a spiced sweetness that brought to mind cinnamon rolls. It has a very nice roast intensity that played into low toned cocoa notes. The wet aroma brought out a chocolatey side, like semi-sweet chips, carob, and raw cacao. I found the cup flavors to be fairly refined for Brazil and was chocolatey with a spiced bittersweetness, like cinnamon-laced chocolate bar, and accompanied by creamy body. It ticks off a lot of boxes for an excellent single origin Brazilian espresso option.