Brazil Pulp Natural Condado São José

This lot is from Roberto Machado ("Beto"), who runs the 150 hectare farm, Fazenda São José Condado. The farm has stood much longer than the Junqueira family has owned it, dating back to the mid 1800's when the first coffee was planted and the original farm house was built. The farm is located in Bacaio, just outside of Santa Rita do Sacupaí in the Mantiqueira Region of Minas Gerais. The land at Sitio São José is actually 508 hectares, much of which is still natural forest. It requires a fairly large team to manage just the part planted in coffee, and there are 22 permanent employees year round, as well as 100 seasonal workers who join for the harvest. The farm enjoys a modest altitude of 1200 meters above sea level, and is currently planted in Mundo Novo, Acaiá, Catuaí Amarelo, Catuaí Vermelho, Arara, and Catucaí. While much of Brazil coffee farmers uses mechanical harvesters, the topography of the land, and not to mention the distance between plants, does not allow for it. Instead, they use what's called a "hand harvester", which looks like an inverted rake that vibrates the cherries from the branches. They then use a series of milling machinery to separate out the different grades. This lot is a pulp natural process which is about as closed to a fully washed coffee as you will get in Brazil, and quite similar to a mild honey process method in Costa Rica. The coffee cherry and much of the fruit are removed with depulping machinery, and then the seed is laid to dry with fruit mucilage still intact. Pulp naturals often possess more balanced flavors than dry process coffee, less fruited, and can still be big-bodied and lower acid coffees, making them a great choice for espresso and blending.