Introduction to Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm) in Brazil

Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm)

Country: Brazil

Region: Mogiana

Farm Name: Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm)

Owner: Regina Helena Mello de Carvalho Dias of the Carvalho Dias family

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing Method: Pulped Natural

Altitude: 1400 — 1950m

Flavor Profile: Sweet bean character, clean taste, semi-washed processing brings bright yet well-integrated acidity with sweetness, some batches even exhibit tropical fruit notes.

Brazilian Coffee

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and consumer. With 98% of local households drinking coffee, Brazilian farmers don't need to worry about finding a market for their coffee—FrontStreet Coffee believes hardly any producing country can make such a claim. The Republic of Brazil was established in 1890, with early stages resembling military dictatorship. As the international market value of sugar and gold declined, the local government began recognizing coffee's importance as a profit source.

Compared to other Central and South American countries, Brazilian coffee growing regions have significantly lower altitudes, with flat terrain, lack of microclimates, and unshaded coffee tree cultivation. This results in Brazil's unique "soft bean" flavor profile. After cupping Brazilian coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's partners noted low acidity, nutty flavors, chocolate sweetness, balanced acid-bitter profile, excellent body, usually with some woody and earthy notes, quite different from the obvious floral and citrus characteristics of African beans.

As the world's largest coffee-producing country, Brazil ranks first in total production, accounting for approximately 1/3 of global output. Major producing areas are concentrated in the central and southern states. Brazilian coffee comes in many varieties, and like other Arabica coffees, most Brazilian coffee is sun-dried rather than washed. They are classified by state of origin and shipping port.

Brazil has 21 states, with 17 producing coffee, but 5 states account for 98% of total production: Paraná, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Bahia. Paraná in the south has the most impressive output, accounting for 50% of total production.

Brazilian Coffee: Five Flavor Classifications Based on Aroma

Brazilian coffee emphasizes the characteristic body and sweetness of soft beans, with an overall mild and smooth profile. Therefore, five grades are used to distinguish different soft beans: Strictly Soft, Soft, Softish, Hardish, and Rioy.

These five grades correspond to different Brazilian coffee regions:

Strictly Soft: South Minas, Cerrado, Mogiana, Bahia Diamond Plateau.

Soft: Bahia, Minas Southeast mountain forest region, Paraná, São Paulo Midwest, Espírito Santo mountainous areas.

Softish: Eastern and northeastern Minas.

Hardish: Low-altitude areas of Paraná, Espírito Santo.

Rioy: Flat areas of Espírito Santo, lower-altitude areas of southeastern Minas.

Although Brazilian coffee may seem monotonous to some, recently Brazil has produced many specialty beans, with South Minas, Cerrado, Mogiana, and Bahia Diamond Plateau showing the most potential!

Brazilian Coffee Processing Methods

Brazilian coffee utilizes natural, pulped natural, and washed processing methods. The choice mainly depends on the dryness and humidity conditions of each producing region's farms, aiming to present the best flavors from each region with great diversity!

However, why do most people still believe Brazil primarily uses natural processing? FrontStreet Coffee believes there's one significant reason that cannot be ignored: before 1990, Brazil almost entirely used rough natural processing methods, causing Brazilian green beans to easily develop earthy and woody flavors, thus resulting in poor quality and severely damaged reputation.

However, after 1990, Brazil developed the pulped natural method, which not only reduces processing time and enhances fruit aroma and sweetness but also minimizes the risk of off-flavors, significantly improving quality and making it very suitable for single-origin brewing.

The choice of processing method depends on local humidity conditions! Each region's farms adopt the method that best reduces mold growth when processing coffee beans!

Brazilian Coffee Regions

Understanding which region your Brazilian coffee comes from will help you deeply understand its flavor, aroma, and potential quality. With this in mind, FrontStreet Coffee will guide you through the country's main Arabica coffee-producing regions.

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is Brazil's largest coffee-producing state, accounting for nearly 50% of the country's total production. It is also coincidentally the main source of Brazil's specialty coffee.

Minas Gerais' producing regions include:

Sul de Minas (South Minas)

High altitude with an average of 950m, moderate annual temperature around 22°C, accounting for about 30% of Brazil's coffee production, mainly on small farms ranging from 10 to 100 hectares.

Main varieties include Catuaí, Mundo Novo, Icatu, Obatã, and Catuaí Rubi. As for flavor, you'll typically find coffee here is full-bodied with subtle lemon and fruit notes.

Cerrado de Minas

Cerrado de Minas is Brazil's first coffee region to receive Designation of Origin (Cerrado Mineiro) status, giving it similar recognition to famous wine regions. This area is vast, comprising 55 cities located in Alto Paranaiba, Triangulo Mineiro, and northwestern Minas Gerais. Its farms range from medium-sized (2-300 hectares) to large estates.

The region has an altitude of 800-1,300m, distinct seasons (humid summers, mild dry winters), making it excellent for specialty coffee production. You'll find Mundo Novo and Catuaí here, with Cerrado de Minas coffee showing higher acidity.

Chapada de Minas

The highland areas of Chapada de Minas are scattered with valleys, suitable for mechanized production. Catuaí and Mundo Novo are both grown here.

Matas de Minas

Matas de Minas is located in the Atlantic Forest, with undulating terrain and warm, humid climate. About 80% of its production farms are smaller than 20 hectares. It is known for increasing specialty coffee production, which typically has sweet caramel or chocolate flavors. Catuaí and Mundo Novo are planted here.

São Paulo

São Paulo is one of Brazil's historic coffee-producing states. It is also home to Brazil's main coffee export port, the Port of Santos.

Its main producing regions include:

Mogiana

Mogiana's favorable altitude (1400-1950m), moderate temperatures (average 20°C), and uneven terrain create outstanding coffee quality with very sweet and balanced flavors. You'll find Mundo Novo and Catuaí here.

Centro-Oeste de São Paulo

This hilly region consists of cities like Marília, Garça, Ourinhos, and Avaré. Like Mogiana, the terrain is also uneven. Most farms are small to medium-sized.

Espírito Santo

Espírito Santo is Brazil's second-largest coffee-producing state and the largest producer of Robusta.

Regions within Espírito Santo include:

Montanhas do Espírito Santo

This highland region has moderate temperatures and altitudes between 700-1,000m, capable of producing satisfactory specialty coffee. The area is known for high acidity and fruity flavors, with main cultivated varieties being Mundo Novo and Catuaí.

Conilon Capixaba

Brazilian Robusta (Conilon) is grown here, typically on small farms and low-altitude areas.

Bahia

Bahia, located in northeastern Brazil, is a newly added coffee-producing region where coffee cultivation began in the 1970s, known for its quality beans and technological applications. About 75% of the region's crops are Arabica coffee.

Bahia has two producing regions:

Cerrado and Planalto da Bahia

This is Brazil's most high-tech coffee-producing region. From planting to harvesting, full mechanization is common locally.

However, this region's significance goes beyond just remarkable productivity levels. Antônio Rigo de Oliveira from Fazenda São Judas Tadeu in Piatã city won Brazil's 2015 Pulped Naturals Cup of Excellence with 91.22 points. Antônio was also awarded the Presidential Coffee Seal for scoring above 90 points.

The region's climate features high altitude, warm temperatures, dry summers, and rainy winters.

Atlântico Baiano

Like Conilon Capixaba, this region produces Conilon (Robusta) on small farms at low altitudes.

Paraná

Paraná has intensive and productive Norte Pioneiro do Paraná coffee plantations.

Rondônia

This region specializes in growing Conilon (Robusta) coffee. It has a tropical climate with high temperatures and low-altitude areas.

Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm)

Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm) is located in the Alta Mogiana region of São Paulo state, north of São Paulo city. This farm is highly renowned in Brazil and 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 competition in 1999, winning more than 12 times over 7 years. In 2004, they even swept first place, 9th place, 11th place, and more. With countless large and small farms in Brazil over the years hoping to qualify for awards, this family's four major farms have taken home multiple awards year after year. Fazenda Rainha boasts an impressive record: 2nd place in 2000, 3rd place in 2001, and 29th place in 2005. To date, Fazenda Rainha has won awards 3 times. Yellow Bourbon beans are inherently sweet and clean, and natural (or pulped natural) processing makes their acidity slightly subdued but excellently integrated with sweetness, with tropical fruit notes.

The Carvalho Dias family are founding members of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association, with evident commitment to coffee quality and environmental protection. On their family farms, they use natural waterfalls to develop pollution-free hydroelectric power, self-sufficiently meeting electricity needs (another award-winning farm in the family is named after this waterfall - Waterfall Farm). They build churches, classrooms, nurseries, medical stations, insist on maintaining native flora and fauna's original forests, and continue reforestation efforts. Taking Fazenda Rainha as an example, environmental protection is quite thorough. Due to high altitude and non-flat terrain, machines cannot be used for harvesting, so all fruits are hand-picked, and low-yield, high-quality Bourbon varieties are cultivated, making it a representative estate of Brazil's premium coffee essence!

This batch of Fazenda Rainha belongs to the Carvalho Dias family, with the farm being over 116 years old. Located in the high-altitude mountains of São Paulo state near the Minas border, with altitudes reaching 1200-1400 meters, abundant annual rainfall exceeding 1800mm but not causing flood disasters, and average annual temperature of only 19°C. This slightly slower growth of coffee beans results in sufficient density. Though production is smaller, the aroma and flavor are unmatched by ordinary Brazilian plateau beans. This farm mainly grows Bourbon varieties, even with some Bourbon trees over 110 years old! Besides growing Bourbon varieties, Fazenda Rainha's meticulous and careful processing methods are another key to its excellent quality!

Fazenda Rainha's Depulping Processing System

Ripe cherries are hand-picked into cloth bags to avoid falling and contacting the ground. Coffee fruits harvested on the same day are always sent to the farm's processing facility for pulped natural processing on the same day. Hand-picking and using cloth bags for harvested coffee fruits avoids earthy flavors and any improper fermentation. When these harvested coffee fruits arrive at the processing facility, they immediately undergo "washing": cleaning the coffee fruits and screening out unqualified or dried beans (bóia beans) based on bean size. The qualified beans continue through the depulping process (using a pulper machine).

The farm grows 200 acres of Yellow Bourbon coffee trees. The rolling mountain terrain prevents large-scale mechanical harvesting, so all coffee here needs to be hand-picked.

The farm uses natural and pulped natural processing methods. The semi-washed method uses drying racks and mechanical drying, with mechanical screening followed by manual screening. The extensive work requires farm employees to live on the farm year-round. All employees and their families enjoy housing, healthcare, and educational benefits here.

The farm is a member of a medium-sized farm organization in the local Grama Valley, mainly exporting Bourbon variety specialty coffee. The organization's office is located in nearby Poços de Caldas, and they also have a national-level cupping laboratory with large warehouses. The organization also collaborates with local universities and other institutions on research, including Lavras University—the famous Dr. Flavio Borem comes from this university's agricultural research center.

Fazenda Rainha Award Records

2014 Cup of Excellence 13th Place

2013 Cup of Excellence 2nd Place

2012 Cup of Excellence 8th Place

2011 Cup of Excellence Champion

2010 Cup of Excellence 20th Place

2009 Cup of Excellence 6th Place

2008 Cup of Excellence 14th Place

Green Bean Analysis

This bean uses the Cerezadescascado method (depulped method) invented in Brazil. FrontStreet Coffee believes this honey-like natural processing method makes the coffee flavor more rounded, with effects between washed and full natural processing. The process first uses small amounts of water to remove pulp and skin, then directly places the coffee on drying racks for sun-drying, constantly turning to ensure all coffee contacts sunlight. After several days of drying, mechanical drying is used to achieve appropriate moisture content.

Roasting Analysis

The green beans have solid texture and excellent flavor performance, with slight orange peel and spice notes. Green bean moisture content is 9.9%.

This bean has relatively low moisture content, making its heat absorption capacity very strong. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting plan is to start at 200°C, then use high heat and low airflow to speed up dehydration. After the dehydration phase ends, use medium airflow and medium heat for the Maillard reaction, not too rushed, finishing near the end of first crack.

FrontStreet Coffee conducted 4 trial roasts and finally chose to finish between 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes after first crack ended. The flavor shows obvious sweetness but not monotonous sweetness, with subtle lemon notes in the background, more prominent in the wet aroma phase. The finish shows clear dark chocolate flavors, with an overall rounded feeling, embodying Brazil's characteristics while maintaining lively qualities.

Charge amount: 550g

Brewing Reference

Brazil Fazenda Rainha. 15g coffee, medium grind (Fuji Royal hand grinder #4)

V60 dripper, 88-89°C water temperature, first pour 30g water, 27-second bloom

Pour to 105g then pause, wait until water level drops to half before continuing, slowly pour until 225g total. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00

Flavor Profile:

Sweet bean character, clean taste, pulped natural processing brings bright yet well-integrated acidity with sweetness, some batches even exhibit tropical fruit notes. The abundant aroma during brewing is particularly captivating. Fresh sweetness of sugarcane juice, black tea, smooth and pleasant fruit sweetness, obvious nutty flavors, balanced and smooth acidity, subtle and clean bitterness, with rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors. Bright and refreshing mouthfeel, smooth and delicate texture.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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