COE Brazilian Coffee Estates | Fazenda Santa Inês | Pour-Over Coffee Bean Recommendations

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Brazil Fazenda Santa Inês High-Scoring Coffee Estate - Pulped Natural Yellow Bourbon

Brazil Fazenda Santa Inês Bourbon (Pulped Natural)

Country: Brazil, Region: Sul de Minas

Estate Name: Fazenda Santa Inês

Town: Carmo de Minas

Total area: 214 hectares, coffee cultivation: 105 hectares

Variety: Bourbon

Processing Method: Hand-picked, Brazilian PN processing method (Pulped Natural Process)

In addition to the coffee introduced in this article, FrontStreet Coffee recommends coffee beans suitable for pour-over: Brazil Queen Estate COE, Brazil Sacred Wood Estate

Overview

Have you ever wondered who holds the highest score record among the 60 Cup of Excellence (CoE) competitions held in 9 countries to date?

She achieved an impressive average score of 95.85 points. As of April 2011, no champion from the other 60 CoE competitions has surpassed this scoring record!

She also set a CoE bidding record at $49.75 per pound! This CoE record remained unbroken until 2012...

This exceptional estate comes from Brazil! It's the renowned Fazenda Santa Inês, now available in our country!

Since 2005, Taiwanese coffee buyers have been trying to purchase Santa Inês year after year. Any cupper who tastes her samples asks: "How much more is available?" Unfortunately, only Fazenda do Sertão, from the same group, was imported in 2006, and even that left those who tasted it full of praise. Can you imagine how exceptional Santa Inês tastes?

When the Brazil CoE competition resumed in 2008, Taiwan was also one of the judges in this globally watched specialty coffee competition. On the afternoon when the Top 10 concluded, we conducted an additional round of blind tasting of exceptional estates that couldn't participate immediately. Some samples were remarkably outstanding, surprising everyone who agreed they were on par with the top three from the morning's Top 10. The sample that received the highest score from all judges was none other than this Fazenda Santa Inês!

Two days later, after three additional rounds of cupping and competitive bidding (similar to the 2007 Cup of Excellence process), Taiwanese coffee buyers finally procured their long-awaited Fazenda Santa Inês at a premium price.

Estate Background

The protagonist of this article, Fazenda Santa Inês, not only set the highest score record in CoE competition history but is also part of the SERTÃO Group. The estate is located in Carmo de Minas, a renowned specialty coffee hub in southern Minas Gerais. This group has cultivated coffee for over a century, making it one of the earliest coffee estates in the region. In 2005, its famous estates set multiple records, winning both the [Highest Bid] and [Most Finalist Estates] categories, with three estates from the group ranking in the Top 10 - a record that remains unmatched and will likely be difficult for future generations to surpass. Fazenda Santa Inês, in particular, is considered by specialty coffee professionals worldwide as a model of Brazilian specialty coffee excellence.

The estate features sweet natural springs and well-preserved pristine forests. Located in the high-altitude mountain region of the Mantinqueira Mountains, despite significant temperature variations, fortunately, there's no frost damage. The volcanic soil is fertile. Under the leadership of Francisco Isidoro Dias Pereira, the estate maintains traditional intensive cultivation practices. Unlike most Brazilian estates that increase production by thousands of bags, Fazenda Santa Inês prioritizes environmental conservation and employee welfare. Coffee cultivation covers less than half of the estate's total area. They prefer to focus on specialty coffee and establish direct relationships with roasters rather than massively expanding production capacity.

Harvesting and Processing

Santa Inês Estate's harvesting and processing model is as follows:

(1) Hand-picking coffee cherries. The estate is located on high-altitude mountain slopes, requiring manual harvesting of only ripe cherries. Besides hand-picking, coffee trees are given ample growing space without dense planting.

(2) At the receiving and processing station in the coffee plantation, cherries are transported twice daily and immediately undergo washing, pulping, and spreading on the same day. When using the semi-washed method (Pulped Natural method), continuous operations are essential. These operations are concentrated at the group's Fazenda do Sertão estate.

(3) After receiving coffee cherries, they are first washed, then depulped, and washed again. On the same day, these coffee cherries are spread on concrete patios for the subsequent drying process.

(4) The second stage of drying involves machine drying, followed by the crucial resting period, aiming for uniform drying to achieve 11% - 10.5% moisture content. For example, a special batch from the 2008-2009 harvest required this resting period and couldn't be sent to the CoE competition, which is why we were able to procure it.

(5) The parchment coffee is rested for 30 days to ensure quality stability.

(6) Transported to the cooperative for final dry processing and grading packaging. (The cooperative has precision density graders and electronic color sorters for final dry processing and grading)

(7) Continuous quality control: Implementing process management and quality monitoring at all stages; each batch of harvested and processed coffee is independently marked with cuppers' evaluations and retained samples from the cooperative. Each batch's buyers (international roasters) have information available for discussion and comparison.

Cupping Notes

Dry Aroma: Champagne grapes, hazelnuts, cane sugar, cream, sweet vanilla

Wet Aroma: Caramel, chocolate, vanilla and creamy sweetness, premium hazelnut sweetness, floral notes

Sipping: Champagne grapes, noticeable sweetness, delicate oily texture, sweet vanilla, creamy chocolate and premium hazelnuts, Eurasian licorice sweetness, with distinct spicy and hazelnut notes in the aftertaste.

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