Story
The second coffee we’ve brought in from Brazil’s FAF (Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza) this year, “Anhumas” was grown on two small farms by producers Mauro and Silvana Cavalari and Thiago Manzoli in the Anhumas valley near São Paulo. This high cup quality microlot of single-varietal Yellow Icatu was grown at ~1200 MASL in volcanic soil and offers immaculate sweetness and aromatics, characteristic of this region’s unique terroir. We taste milk chocolate, peanut brittle and dried raisins in the cup. Anhumas was processed naturally, meaning the pulp and mucilage were extracted off the seed before drying, removing sugars to stop fermentation and ensuring a highly straightforward flavor. The beans were then sun-dried on the patio, and turned throughout the day for heightened precision.
The Cavalaris’ commitment to sustainable agricultural practices is more than just a personal pursuit. They’ve become leaders in their community, sharing information and resources with neighbors and exchanging knowledge to improve harvest quality overall through their group, Pântano. Mauro expresses a deep connection to preserving the environment through cultivating coffee; putting water treatment methods in place, abstaining from spreading herbicides, and making use of FAF’s recycled husks initiative to help the soil retain moisture and nutrients organically.
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (“Environmental Fortress Farm”) began as a farm nearly 175 years ago, and transitioned to fully organic operations in the early 2000s under the direction of Sylvia and Marcos Croce. Since winning the Sustainability Award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America in 2008, FAF has turned their focus back to the community around them. They opened a coffee lab for experimenting with processing methods, a shared mill, and a direct trade exporting network. Today, FAF helps over 150 local specialty coffee growers scale the quality and sustainability of their harvest, and achieve financial prosperity via more equitable pricing.
What’s more, they’ve helped improve traceability for international roasters and importers on microlots in a country where the majority of coffees are still sold into mass coop blends or produced by industrialized estates. Sul de Minas is one of the country’s largest regions for growing Arabica, accounting for about 30% of all national coffee production — and largely by small farm holders. Mountainous and home to temperate microclimates, the topography is often compared to the South of France. Combined with the productive nature of its volcanic soil, coffees sourced from Sul de Minas are widely sought after — which is why we’re extremely happy to continue our deepening partnership with such a wonderful exporting organization representing a growing number of producers across three states in Brazil.
