Milk Chocolate. Praline. Walnuts.
Farm: Fazenda Floresta
Region: Chapada Diamantina, Bahia
Processing: Pulped Natural
Elevation: 1,200 masl
Sourced By: Melbourne Coffee Merchants
Information on this coffee from MCM:
"This coffee comes from the Chapada Diamantina region of the Bahia state in Northeast Brazil. It is grown at 1,200 metres above sea level by Nelson Ribeiro.
Chapada Diamantina translates to ”Diamond Plateau” in Portuguese. For 100 years, this area was mined for the gemstones embedded in its cliffs. Today the region is famous for its specialty coffee—in 2016, 19 of the 24 winning coffees in Brazil’s Cup of Excellence came from this region—and this is no accident. The region enjoys high altitudes and the perfect micro-climate to produce very special coffees.
The Chapada Diamantina region is also the largest biodynamic coffee-producing region in Brazil, with more than 600 workers and their families involved in this form of agriculture. Biodynamic agriculture is the oldest consciously organic approach to farming and gardening and is one of the most sustainable in existence. It is founded on a holistic and spiritual understanding of nature and builds on the pioneering research work of Rudolf Steiner.
Farmer Nelson Ribeiro started working in coffee from a very young age after moving to Bahia in 1979 with his parents. In the late nineties, Nelson began to adopt organic farming practices on the farm, and since this time he has worked tirelessly to transform the farm and embrace the principles of Rudolf Steiner. Today, Nelson is an active member of the Asociación Biodinámica d’Ibicoara (ABI). He eschews the use of agrochemicals, instead applying solutions made from plants, minerals, and other natural materials (such as cow manure) that inoculate the soil and help to maintain a healthy balance.
Nowadays Nelson works with his three sons on Fazenda Floresta. Twenty-seven hectares of the 80-hectare farm are dedicated to coffee production. This particular lot has been processed using the pulped natural method, in which the cherry skin and fruit is removed and the sticky parchment-covered beans are left to dry on raised beds where they are spread out in fine layers and turned regularly until they arrive at the right level of humidity."