Brazil - Sítio Canaã Natural

This microlot was grown at Sítio Canaã (which translates to “The Promised Land” in Portuguese). The farm lies just outside the small town of Piatã, in Bahia’s Chapada Diamantina region, ranging across 1,280 to 1,340 meters above sea level. Chapada Diamantina translates to “Diamond Plateau” in Portuguese, and for 100 years this area was mined for the gemstones embedded in its cliffs. Today, the region is famous for its specialty coffee.

Sítio Canaã is owned and managed by Kleumon Silva Moreira. In 2016, using all of his savings along with a small loan from the bank (for which Antônio was his guarantor), Kleumon put together enough to establish his own coffee farm. He purchased a 10-hectare plot of land and began planting it with a wide range of varieties, including Topázio, Catuaí, Obata, Bourbon, Paraiso, Arara and Acauã.Since then, Kleumon has been able to buy more land to expand the estate, with the most recent addition being a fifteen-hectare plot in 2022.

Kleumon is a conscientious producer and meticulous in the way that he approaches every aspect of his plantation. Each of the trees at Sítio Canaã is carefully planted 60cm apart and in rows that are 3.3m apart. To optimise and supplement his income while his coffee trees fully mature, Kleumon has also planted sugarcane, passionfruit, and strawberries — but as his coffee production grows, he is slowly moving away from these crops (though he enjoys producing cachaça and panela bricks for his own consumption). The property also includes a water reserve, which Kleumon relies on heavily during years when the region is experiencing a drought.

HOW THIS COFFEE WAS PROCESSED

Kleumon ensures cherries were picked by hand only when fully ripe. His picking team was made up of many of his family members, including his mother who lives close by. Once picked, cherries were taken to Cerca de Pedras for processing. Here, these were washed gently and left to ferment in a small bioreactor for 72 hours.
The coffee was then laid out to dry on raised beds for 25 days, inside greenhouses. During drying, the cherries were turned several times a day to ensure they were drying evenly. At this stage, the coffee was primarily left in the shade and greenhouses are closed overnight, to slow down and homogenise the drying process. This extra attention to detail is key in improving and ‘saving’ the fructose and all positive attributes found in the fruit that contribute to a higher quality in the final cup, and adds to the longevity of the lot. Once dry, the pods were taken to Antonio Rigno’s São Judas Tadeu to be dry milled and separated into numbered lots. The sacks of parchment were later stored and rested at a purpose-built warehouse at Fazenda Progresso, to be prepared for export.

Expected Taste Notes

Milk chocolate, Hoji cha, Almond nougat, stone fruit, Creamy and sweet