[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro – late to the party?” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n
Have you ever shown up for a birthday party a week late (or a week early)? Of course it\u2019s a little embarrassing at first, but it can also be an opportunity to, you know, just have an extra party, right?<\/strong> Some of the origins we work in are a little bit like that party bonus, except it\u2019s not that they arrive at the wrong time\u2014they just party on a slightly different schedule. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The southeastern region of Esp\u00edrito Santo in Brazil is one area that keeps the party perpetual, at least in a way. Unlike its western neighbor, the famous state of Minas Gerais (which contains Carmo de Minas), whose coffees ripen from April through September, \u201cthese are what are called the March-flowering coffees,\u201d says Luis Arocha. \u201cThey are harvested more in October through November, that\u2019s why they come in late in the season, compared to the other Brazils.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Espirito-Santo_Sitio-Raio-de-Luz-_2018_Bourbon-Specialty_Web-8.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”They’re really that good” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Luis is Cafe Imports\u2019 primary green-coffee buyer in Brazil, and over the years he\u2019s not only been traveling to this country to source top lots from specialty growers in Carmo de Minas, but also making trips to this smaller, lesser-known coffee area, with which he has fallen in love. In fact, everyone at Cafe Imports who has tasted coffee from Esp\u00edrito Santo has fallen in love with the region: Lots from this area routinely score in the upper 80s and even well into the 90s on the cupping table, much to the tasters\u2019 surprise when the origin is revealed. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you were blind cupping them, you would never guess they were Brazil\u2014you would say Central America, other areas in America because of the acidity,\u201d Luis says. \u201cVery high fruitiness, very complex coffees. Imagine that!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Brazil skeptics, listen up: There <\/span><\/span><\/span>is<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> undoubtedly something different about these coffees, and it\u2019s not just hype. They taste floral, tropically fruity, and sweet, with crisp acidity akin to an apple or pineapple, rich caramel flavor, with grapey characteristics and articulate flavors. <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201cSome of the scores we\u2019ve had so far was 90, 92 points. Some of the best coffees I have tasted in Brazil,\u201d Luis says. \u201cActually, one time I cupped there and I scored one coffee 94 points. You know what we call \u2018the origin effect,\u2019 where you\u2019re happy to be at origin so you score a coffee a little high? I thought that, so we sent it to the lab\u2014and it scored 94 in the lab!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Espirito-Santo-Lucho.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Sitio-Das-Nascentes-2.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Climate, elevation” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n In part, that quality is probably due to the somewhat unique climate conditions here: \u201cEsp\u00edrito Santo<\/span><\/span><\/span> is misty, and it\u2019s higher in altitude: You can see farms at 1,100 or 1,200 meters, which is pretty high for Brazil. It\u2019s constantly a little rainy, misty, and humid.\u201d This long wet season prolongs cherry development, making sweeter, more intensely aromatic floral notes. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Luis thinks that in addition to the unusual climate, the processing has a lot to do with the exceptional quality of these lots. Where most of the rest of Brazil\u2019s offerings are Natural or Pulped Natural, Esp\u00edrito Santo\u2019s coffees are typically Washed, which help makes sense of the fact that they taste like coffees from somewhere else. Also contrasted with other regions in-country, Esp\u00edrito Santo is more generally peppered with smaller farms, 20 hectares or, often, fewer\u2014practically minuscule compared to the 100- or 200-hectare farms found in Carmo de Minas. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Espirito_Santo_Da_Barra_2018_Bourbon_Specialty_Web-1.jpg” align=”center” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Valdeir-Mauro-De-Paula-Rancha-Dantas-Brejetuba.jpg” align=”center” max_width=”83%” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”smallholders, conclusion” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Because of the smaller size and scale, as well as the altitude and local traditions, \u201cthe producers are doing a more selective picking,\u201d Luis continues. \u201cThere is still a lot of mechanical harvesting, but instead of the huge stripping machines they use the little ones that shake the tree. And they do hand-sorting of cherries, and take care during fermentation, experimenting with different fermentation times. Those all contribute to the quality of the coffee.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So the next time someone seems to show up late to the party, just remember they might <\/span><\/span><\/span>be <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>the party. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”We should make buttons for these P# or something graphic for them maybe?” _builder_version=”3.7″ disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on”]<\/p>\n P11903<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n P12122<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n P12123<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n P12124<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row disabled_on=”off|off|off” disabled=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.7″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_cta button_text=”Sitio Das Nacente ” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#7bb262″ border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_url=”\/offerings#\/keyword=11903\/location=*\/view=\/” header_font=”Changa One||||” button_text_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color_hover=”#911814″ button_border_color_hover=”#911814″ module_class=”CI-divi-button1″ custom_css_promo_button=”width: 100%;||min-height: 90px;||” saved_tabs=”all” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.7″ \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_cta button_text=”Rancho Dantas” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#7bb262″ border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_url=”\/offerings#\/keyword=12124\/location=*\/view=\/” header_font=”Changa One||||” button_text_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color_hover=”#911814″ button_border_color_hover=”#911814″ module_class=”CI-divi-button1″ custom_css_promo_button=”width: 100%;||min-height: 90px;||” saved_tabs=”all” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.7″ \/][et_pb_cta button_text=”Corrego Rancho Dantas” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#7bb262″ border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_url=”\/offerings#\/keyword=12122\/location=*\/view=\/” header_font=”Changa One||||” button_text_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color_hover=”#911814″ button_border_color_hover=”#911814″ module_class=”CI-divi-button1″ custom_css_promo_button=”width: 100%;||min-height: 90px;||” saved_tabs=”all” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.7″ \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_cta button_text=”Sitio Raio de Luz” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#7bb262″ border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_url=”\/offerings#\/keyword=12123\/location=*\/view=\/” header_font=”Changa One||||” button_text_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color_hover=”#911814″ button_border_color_hover=”#911814″ module_class=”CI-divi-button1″ custom_css_promo_button=”width: 100%;||min-height: 90px;||” saved_tabs=”all” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.7″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever shown up for a birthday party a week late (or a week early)? Of course it\u2019s a little embarrassing at first, but it can also be an opportunity to, you know, just have an extra party, right? Some of the origins we work in are a little bit like that party bonus, except it\u2019s not that they arrive at the wrong time\u2014they just party on a slightly different schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":35684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brazil"],"site_id":"1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.cafeimports.com\/north-america\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}