Carmo de Minas lies in the rolling hills of Brazil's Mantiqueira region, about four hours from both Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The area is famous for its naturally occurring springs, drawing tourists from around the country to visit the Parque de Águas and luxury spas of the neighboring city of São Lourenço. Increasingly, the region is also known for its coffee production, owing largely to the vision and successes of both CarmoCoffees and the extended Pereira Family.
With 740 hectares, Fazenda Santa Lúcia is more than double the size of Central Park. Most of the farm is dedicated to bananas, corn, and cattle, but the 100 hectares planted with coffee grow mundo novo, yellow catuaí, acaiá, and yellow bourbon. Elevations on the farm range from 900 to 1,250 meters, quite high for its latitude and ideal for the cultivation of high quality coffee.
Like many farms in the area, Santa Lúcia follows a sort of alternate-side pruning process called safra zero or the "zero harvest" method. Each year, half of the farm's coffee is pruned and the other is not. The half which is pruned "rests" for the following season, producing nothing. The half that is allowed to remain productive yields 80-90 bags per hectare, about three times more than would be expected with no pruning regimen—all while reducing costs and improving quality.
The farm benefits from good rainfall, well-defined seasons, and healthy soil. Where possible, inputs such as parchment reclaimed from the dry milling process are used as organic fertilizers. Coffee is planted in tidy rows grouped by variety, which helps with labor and space allocation during the harvest season.
This lot is 100% yellow bourbon, processed as a conventional natural—a combination of variety and processing we seek out in Brazil for its soft acidity and sweet, round flavor profile. Once picked and dried the coffee is trucked to the CarmoCoffees warehouse in Três Corações where it undergoes a state-of-the-art dry milling and sorting on custom-fabricated Pinhalense equipment.
With 740 hectares, Fazenda Santa Lúcia is more than double the size of Central Park. Most of the farm is dedicated to bananas, corn, and cattle, but the 100 hectares planted with coffee grow mundo novo, yellow catuaí, acaiá, and yellow bourbon. Elevations on the farm range from 900 to 1,250 meters, quite high for its latitude and ideal for the cultivation of high quality coffee.
Like many farms in the area, Santa Lúcia follows a sort of alternate-side pruning process called safra zero or the "zero harvest" method. Each year, half of the farm's coffee is pruned and the other is not. The half which is pruned "rests" for the following season, producing nothing. The half that is allowed to remain productive yields 80-90 bags per hectare, about three times more than would be expected with no pruning regimen—all while reducing costs and improving quality.
The farm benefits from good rainfall, well-defined seasons, and healthy soil. Where possible, inputs such as parchment reclaimed from the dry milling process are used as organic fertilizers. Coffee is planted in tidy rows grouped by variety, which helps with labor and space allocation during the harvest season.
This lot is 100% yellow bourbon, processed as a conventional natural—a combination of variety and processing we seek out in Brazil for its soft acidity and sweet, round flavor profile. Once picked and dried the coffee is trucked to the CarmoCoffees warehouse in Três Corações where it undergoes a state-of-the-art dry milling and sorting on custom-fabricated Pinhalense equipment.
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