Cacao & Cranberry

Augusto Borges and his wife, Patricia Fernanda Silveira, both come from families of coffee farmers and have high aspirations for making something delicious and special on their small 7 hectare farm in Sul de Minas.

A large part of the harvesting and sorting on the farm is done by hand. Unlike many areas in Brazil where the landscape is flat and farming has become largely mechanised, Capadocia is located in a mountainous terrain and relatively higher altitude.

Although picking by hand takes longer, it enables the farmer to be more selective about which cherries are picked, based on ripeness. This manual sorting continues throughout the processing and drying, where under/over ripe cherries are removed to increase flavour clarity, sweetness and complexity.

This coffee is heavy and sweet, reminding primarily of cacao, with a tart, red berry quality. It made us think of dried cranberries when we tasted it for the first time.