Robson Vilela Martins was a dentist in his former life. By 2001, he had saved enough money to purchase Fazenda Alta Vista, satisfying his dream of owning a coffee farm. In 2007, his first harvest placed in Brazil's Cup of Excellence competition, a remarkable achievement which he has repeated multiple times in the years following.
At about 90 hectares (a quarter of the size of Central Park), Alta Vista is significantly smaller than the other farms in Brazil who supply coffee to us. At this scale, Robson is able to focus on supporting the wellbeing of his relatively small staff. Consequently, the farm has earned recognition for its practically non-existent turnover. This has paid dividends in terms of both production efficiency and coffee quality.
Elevations on the farm range from about 1,000-1,300 meters above sea level, rather high for Brazil's coffeelands. At these latitudes, elevations above 1,000masl are more or less comparable to 1,600-2,000masl in Central America. The resulting warm daytime temperatures and cool nighttime temperatures promote the slow ripening of coffee fruits, which creates more complexity and better flavor in the cup.
This is our first year purchasing Alta Vista's coffee. Sourcing was made possible by Carmo Coffees, our long-time export partners in Brazil. Carmo's people, their farms, their processing, their innovations, and ultimately the quality of coffee they produce are unparalleled. We've long been aware of Alta Vista's outstanding reputation and we're thrilled to be serving this excellent coffee.
Leave a comment
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.