Is Sitio Caminho Farm Coffee from Brazil a Bourbon Variety? Flavor Characteristics of Brazilian Bourbon Coffee Beans

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Is the Sitio Caminho Farm Coffee Bean from Brazil a Bourbon Variety? What are the Flavor Characteristics of Brazilian Bourbon Coffee Beans?

Sitio Caminho is a 7-hectare coffee farm where owners, husband and wife Paulo Henrique Miranda and Sandra Lelis da Silva, grow Catuai at approximately 1,200 meters above sea level. The Miranda family purchased this farmland 30 years ago, and Paulo Henrique is the third generation to use it for coffee cultivation. The trees range in age from 3 to 30 years and are intercropped with corn, beans, fruits, and vegetables. All work on this farm is done by hand, from harvesting to processing. The coffee is dried on raised beds. The farm is owned by two brothers, Antonio Marcio da Silva and Sebastiao Afonso da Silva, who also have 13 other siblings. They grew up with a family engaged in rice production and decided to enter the coffee cultivation business 20 years ago. What started as just one hectare for coffee cultivation has become the family's main source of income and passion for their product.

The farm is located in the municipality of Cristina in the southern part of Minas Gerais state, which produces a large amount of coffee due to favorable conditions such as fertile soil, distinct seasons, and high altitude. The total farm area is 5 hectares, with the highest altitude reaching 1,400 meters. This particular lot is Catuai variety and fully natural process. As mentioned above, in 2015, the same farm not only won first place in the Cup of Excellence Brazil but also achieved the highest score ever in a Cup of Excellence competition, which is impressive! That same year, it also won first place in the Espresso Coffee Ernesto Illy Quality Award.

The producer is a member of APROCAM, an organization that guarantees the origin and traceability of lots. The farm is committed to sustainable development through responsible agricultural guidance and natural resource conservation. All harvesting is done by hand, and processing work is completed on the farm. The coffee is dried on terraces and then finished through mechanical drying to ensure consistency. Once the coffee is ready for export, it is stored at COCARIVE (Cooperativa Regional dos Cafeicultores do Vale do Rio Verde), which provides support to its members at every stage of coffee production, including in the commercialization field, where they have a department completely dedicated to high-scoring lots like this one.

In mid-March 2017, it arrived directly from its origin in GrainPro. This is a very unusual and high-value coffee proposition. This coffee was the highest-scoring coffee in Cup of Excellence history when it won the 2015 Brazil Late Harvest Cup competition with a score of 95.18. At that time, more than 2,000 pounds were purchased at a price of $23.80 per pound, and it was then highlighted at the opening of a new specialty concept at a renowned coffee company, where they sold it for $40 per 8 ounces. We secured this year's crop because it was in the Cocarive regional competition in Carmo de Minas, southeastern Brazil. We received all the coffees that were judged in the competition but had not yet been auctioned. Sitio Baixadao was our favorite, and we were asked to provide it blindly. We then discovered that, for some reason we still cannot understand, it placed 9th in the competition with a score of 87.87; we would definitely have placed it at the top and given it a higher score. However, this worked in our favor then and now, as we won the auction at a price that makes this coffee a tremendous bargain. Purchase now, as it will not last long.

Specialty Coffee Regions

Paraná, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia, Pernambuco.

Grades

AA Plus, AA, Peaberry

Botanical Varieties

Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Mundo Novo, Catuai, Maragogype

Cup Characteristics

Aroma of red wine, mango, and dark fruits. Green apple, champagne, and citric acidity. Creamy body, complex and juicy.

Flavor Profile

Coffee from these altitudes, although relatively high for Brazil, is gentler than other origins. Therefore, slower roasting is possible. This coffee will produce an earthy body and is ideal for single-origin espresso. We recommend pulling the roast before the second crack begins, or just at the beginning.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendation:

Dripper

Hario V60

Water Temperature

88°C

Grind Size

Fuji R-4 grind setting

Brewing Method

Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First pour 25g water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour to 120g water, pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis

Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because V60 has many ribs and drains relatively quickly, pausing during pouring can extend the extraction time.

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