The Audio version of In My Mug, the weekly coffee subscription podcast from Hasbean
Episodes
Sunday Mar 19, 2017
Sunday Mar 19, 2017
The Vieira Ferreira family has specialised in coffee production for three generations and is now headed by Adolfo Vieira Ferreira, whose attention to detail and commitment to producing top-class specialty coffee is second to none.
The farm employs a high number of skilled workers to carry out most of the production process by hand, in order to guarantee quality. They do everything, from soil preparation for planting to hand-picking the ripe cherries. In return, the farm looks after its workers. Permanent workers and their families live on-site and are provided with schooling for their children, professional training and environmental education.
The farm also takes environmental sustainability seriously and abides by all Brazilian environmental protection laws. Its native forests are set aside as protected reserves and are often visited by tourists, school children and ecologists. The farm also regularly plants new trees, particularly around its water sources, in order to maintain the local ecosystem.
Passeio’s coffee is picked by hand only when the cherries reach an advanced stage of ripeness, to avoid processing green beans.
Every now and again a coffee varietal comes along and I know nothing about it, every time it happens I'm reminded why I love coffee varietals and their complexity so much. It’s always kinda been my thing; I went through a spell of writing lots of them up (see here).
This varietal of this coffee is Arara and it originates from the crossing between Yellow Catuai and Obatã (Hybrid of Timor) varieties. It was developed on an experimental farm of the Procafé Foundation in Varginha, Brazil.
The experiment has been part of an on going project in Brazil where many new varietals are being discovered – Procafé found that Arara is one of the most successful to date in both yield and in cup quality – so much so that the Arara seeds are the most requested at Procafé for new seedlings! It’s excelled so much even at this early experiment phase.
The next stage of the experiment is to see how it performs on farms and on a larger scale in the planting dissemination.
Arara is a yellow fruiting coffee, with a high resistance to leaf rust, good productivity and high quality potential.
In the cup dark chocolate is dominant in a big big way, like high % cocoa dark chocolate. There's also brown sugar, hazelnut, walnut and dark chocolate is back on the finish but this time it's very Cadbury's Bournville.
- Country: Brazil
- Region: Minas Gerais
- City: Alfenas
- Farm: Fazenda Passeio
- Owner: Adolfo Henrique Vieira Ferreira
- Varietal: Arara
- Processing: Pulped Natural
- Altitude: 1,100–1,200 metres above sea level
CUPPING NOTES
Dark chocolate, brown sugar, hazelnut, walnut, Bournville.
Clean cup: (1–8): 6
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7
Flavour: (1–8): 6
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6
Balance: (1–8): 6
Overall: (1–8): 6
Correction: (+36): +36
Total: (max. 100): 86
Roasting Information
Medium dark - just before second crack starts.
Quick Look Guide
Dark chocolate, brown sugar, hazelnut, walnut, Bournville.