Episode 606: Brazil Carmo Estate Pulped Natural Bourbon

The Junqueira family started growing coffee on the highlands of southern Minas Gerais 150 years ago. The current owner is Tulio Junquiera. He's from the fifth generation of the family, and he's combined tradition with innovation to make Carmo Estate a sustainable farm dedicated to the production of specialty coffees. Tulio is also a former president of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA).

Carmo Estate’s mission is to produce exceptional coffees while providing its employees with a good quality of life and respecting the environment. The farm is located near the town of Heliodora in the southern state of Minas Gerais, which is a stunning region with mountainous terrain, mineral water springs, and ideal conditions to grow specialty coffees.

Carmo Estate has 220 hectares (545 acres) of land dedicated to the coffee varieties Mundo Novo, Catuaí, Catucaí, Bourbon, Acaiá and Icatú. The owners’ personal attention, the agronomists’ specialist supervision, and the fertile soil contribute to an average yield of 40 bags per hectare. That's more than twice the national average. Coffees from Carmo Estate are grown at altitudes ranging from 950 to 1,200 metres above sea level (3,100 to 3,900 feet).

The milling facilities at Carmo Estate were developed especially for the production of high-quality specialty Naturals and Pulped Naturals. The spacious drying patios are complemented by mechanical dryers, which are used when weather conditions are not favourable. The farm stores all of its coffee in wooden silos and has its own warehouse.

Carmo Estate is committed to the wellbeing of its employees and partners. Healthcare, on-site schooling for children, programmes to encourage workers to build their own housing, adult education projects, and the importance of environmental preservation are all hallmarks of the farm. Carmo Estate also runs an innovative profit-sharing programme, in which employees are invited to become partners in Carmo Estate and thus become entitled to a share of the profits earned from the sale of its coffee.

Each year this coffee brings us lovely, sweet caramel, and this year is no exception. Alongside that, you get a hit of digestive biscuit before it finishes on pecan nuts. There's just a nod to dark chocolate too, adding depth to it all.

• Country: Brazil
• Region: Minas Gerais
• City: Heliodora
• Farm: Carmo Estate
• Altitude: 950–1,200 m.a.s.l.
• Varietal: Bourbon
• Processing: Pulped Natural
• Producer: Túlio Henrique Rennó Junqueira

CUPPING NOTES

Caramel, digestive biscuit, pecan, dark chocolate

Clean cup: (1–8): 6
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
Flavour: (1–8): 7
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6
Balance: (1–8): 6.5
Overall: (1–8): 6.5
Correction: (+36): +36

Total (max. 100): 87

Roast Information
Medium-dark - keep the pace up pushing it through first crack, then let it slow itself down in the gap to develop those fantastic caramels, and drop it just before second gets going.