Differences, Distinctions, and Award Status of Brazil Mogiana Queen Farm Natural COE Premium Coffee Beans

Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm) lies in the Alta Mogiana region of São Paulo state, north of São Paulo city. The farm enjoys high recognition in Brazil and is owned by the Carvalho Dias family. The family owns four major farms that have won awards every year since the first Brazil Cup of Excellence (COE) competition in 1999, winning more than 12 awards over 7 years. In 2004 they even swept the championship, 9th place, 11th place, and more. While many large and small farms in Brazil have hoped to be shortlisted over the years, it has been difficult to achieve, yet the four farms under this family have won multiple awards year after year. Fazenda Rainha itself boasts an impressive record: 2nd place in 2000, 3rd place in 2001, and 29th place in 2005. To date it has won awards three times. Yellow Bourbon beans are inherently sweet and clean. Natural (or semi-natural) processing reduces their acidity slightly while letting it blend well with sweetness, creating tropical fruit aromas.

Farm Introduction

This Fazenda Rainha belongs to the renowned and respected Carvalho Dias family. The family's four major farms have won awards every year since the first Brazil COE competition in 1999, taking more than 12 awards over 7 years. In 2004 they swept the championship, 9th place, 11th place, and more. Many large and small farms in Brazil have hoped for years to be shortlisted, but it has been difficult. The farms under this family, however, have won multiple awards year after year. Even Fazenda Rainha, which FrontStreet Coffee purchased, boasts an impressive record: 2nd place in 2000, 3rd place in 2001, and 29th place in 2005. To date it has won awards three times.

The Carvalho Dias family is also a founding member of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association, and its commitment to coffee quality and environmental protection is evident to all. Within their family farms they use natural waterfalls to generate pollution-free hydroelectric power, meeting their own electricity needs (another award-winning family farm is named after this waterfall, the Waterfall Farm). They have built churches, classrooms, nurseries, and medical stations, and they insist on preserving original forests of native flora and fauna along with continuous reforestation. Fazenda Rainha is a good example: environmental protection is quite thorough. Because the terrain is high rather than flat, machines cannot harvest, so every cherry is picked entirely by hand. They also cultivate low-yield, high-quality Bourbon varieties, making it a representative estate of Brazil's premium coffee heritage.

Product Information

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Coffee Bean State: Roasted Coffee Beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Brazil

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Brazil Fazenda Rainha COE Natural Yellow Bourbon

Country: Brazil

Grade: COE

Region: Alta Mogiana (Fazenda Rainha)

Located in the high-altitude area of São Paulo state near the Minas border, at altitudes ranging from 1200 to 1400 meters. Annual rainfall is abundant, reaching over 1800mm without causing floods, and the average annual temperature is only 19°C. As a result the coffee cherries grow a little more slowly, but the bean density is sufficient. Although the yield is lower, the aroma and flavor are unmatched by ordinary Brazilian high-altitude beans. The farm mainly grows Bourbon varieties, including some Bourbon trees more than 110 years old.

Brewing Method

Hand-pour brewing of Brazil Fazenda Rainha. Use 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji Royal grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half before continuing the pour. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Discard the last portion. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Details

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Farm: Fazenda Rainha

Flavor Notes: Lemon, sugarcane, black tea, smooth and delicate

Fazenda Rainha's Coffee Processing System

Ripe cherries are hand-picked into cloth bags to avoid contact with the ground. Cherries harvested the same day always go to the farm's processing facility for pulped natural processing the same day. Hand-picking and cloth bags for post-harvest collection avoid earthy flavors and any improper fermentation. When the harvested cherries reach the facility they immediately undergo "washing": the cherries are cleaned thoroughly, and unqualified or dried fruits (bóia beans) are screened out by bean size. The qualified beans continue to the depulping process, using a pulper machine.

After depulping, the beans still hold some mucilage on the parchment. These beans with residual mucilage are placed on patios to dry until the moisture content drops to around 20%. This stage lets the beans absorb their own starch components while avoiding the uncontrolled drying that plagues full natural processing. These residual mucilage starches create a special sweetness without turning into uncontrolled off-fruit or musty flavors.

Afterward the beans go to drying machines for final drying, reducing the moisture content to 11%, then are moved to storage for resting. Before export the beans are hulled and graded. This segmented pulped natural method is one of the main reasons for Fazenda Rainha's consistent flavor profile. Insisting on Bourbon varieties is, of course, another reason for its excellent reputation.

Brazil Fazenda Rainha

[Country] Brazil, Region: Alta Mogiana (Fazenda Rainha)

[Farm Name] Fazenda Rainha

[Owner] Regina Helena Mello de Carvalho Dias, of the Carvalho Dias family

[Variety] Yellow Bourbon

[Processing Method] Hand-picked, then pulped natural processing

[Harvest Period] May 2006, the latest harvest arriving soon

Alta Mogiana (Fazenda Rainha) Coffee Bean Details

[Origin] Brazil Fazenda Rainha (Alta Mogiana) region

[Variety] Yellow Bourbon

[Altitude] 1200 - 1400m

[Processing Method] Pulped Natural

From Brazil's Fazenda Rainha estate-level Yellow Bourbon, with full, mature sweetness, rich fruit notes, and a persistent aftertaste that wins endless praise. Whether used for Americano-style brewing or as the main sweet component in an espresso blend, it satisfies professionals and is listed as an essential purchasing bean.

Yellow Bourbon beans are sweet and clean. Pulped natural (or semi-washed) processing makes their acidity slightly bright while keeping tropical fruit aromas. The overflowing aroma during brewing is especially delightful.

Fazenda Rainha belongs to the Carvalho Dias family and has been operating for over 116 years. Located in the high-altitude area of São Paulo state near the Minas border, at altitudes ranging from 1200 to 1400 meters, it sees abundant annual rainfall of over 1800mm without floods and an average annual temperature of only 19°C. The cherries therefore grow a little more slowly, but the bean density is sufficient. Though the yield is lower, the aroma and flavor are unmatched by ordinary Brazilian high-altitude beans. The farm mainly grows Bourbon varieties, including some trees more than 110 years old. Besides the Bourbon varieties, Fazenda Rainha's meticulous, thoughtful processing is another key to its excellent quality.

Related Knowledge

The Cup of Excellence (COE) program and trademark are currently owned and managed by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), a non-profit organization based in the United States. Each year ACE works with COE competition host countries to complete specialty coffee cupping selection and online auctions, while also recommending and promoting anything related to coffee quality improvement. The goal is to select exemplary specialty coffees in host countries and exchange experience for the industry to learn from.

[Flavor] The beans are sweet and clean. Pulped natural processing makes their acidity slightly bright while blending well with sweetness, and some even show tropical fruit aromas. The overflowing aroma during brewing is especially delightful. Delicate lemon acidity, the fresh sweetness of sugarcane juice, black tea, and a smooth, delicate texture.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Fazenda Rainha's sweet, clean, pulped natural Yellow Bourbon is exactly what FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Farm Yellow Bourbon is built on. From Mogiana, near South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil gives the cherries ample nutrients and full aroma, it is the rare yellow Bourbon, a genetic mutation of red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character. Through pour-over, moka pot, or a home espresso machine it reveals a sugarcane freshness found in few other regions, along with fruit and chocolate notes.

For a different expression of Brazil, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic single origin from the Cerrado region, semi-washed and medium roasted, with rich aromas of creamy peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut, a rounded body, low acidity, and a light bitterness. It is an easy everyday bean that also works in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon, or in a French press.

If you want to taste Brazilian sweetness at its most structured, FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend uses a Brazilian base and adds a medium-dark Mandheling and a touch of Robusta, giving buttery, roasted-chestnut, and caramel notes with richer crema, a fine choice for lattes and dirty coffees.