A classic Brazil profile up front with milk chocolate, caramel and macadamia nut, followed by juicy red apple and orange notes and a creamy body
The Region
Araponga is a micro-region within Matas de Minas, nestled in the state of Minas Gerais and embraced by the Atlantic Forest. This peaceful town takes its name from a local bird renowned for its distinctive song, and coffee is at the heart of everything here. Around 80% of the local economy revolves around its production.
What sets Araponga apart from the mechanised Brazilian coffee farms many might picture is its terrain. Steep mountainsides make machinery impractical, so coffee has been cultivated and harvested entirely by hand since 1880. The region is home to around 200 small-scale producers, with the vast majority farming fewer than 10 hectares as family operations.
The area's defining characteristic is its varied microclimates. High mountains create a range of temperatures and humidity levels, meaning even neighbouring plots can produce coffees with distinctly different flavour nuances. Altitudes between 950 and 1,400 metres above sea level, combined with the forest's influence, create ideal conditions for specialty coffee.
Araponga gained international recognition following strong performances at Cup of Excellence competitions, with local producers earning multiple awards over the past decade. This success stems from a community-wide commitment to quality that began with fermentation experiments at Serra do Boné Farm in 2014, with knowledge shared through workshops and training across the region.
Environmental Context
The coffee farms of Araponga sit on the doorstep of the Serra do Brigadeiro State Park, which protects the most significant remaining area of seasonal semi-deciduous Atlantic Forest in Minas Gerais. The park forms part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, spanning nearly 15,000 hectares of protected landscape.
This remarkable ecosystem is home to endangered species, some still unknown to science, including the largest known population of the Woolly Spider Monkey, the most endangered primate in the New World. The forests harbour an extraordinary diversity of bromeliads, orchids, palms, and towering hardwoods, while the mist that clings to the peaks for much of the year creates conditions for abundant ferns and lichens.
Many coffee farms in the area are threaded with clear-water streams and bordered by riparian forests, maintaining a natural integration between agriculture and the surrounding Atlantic Forest. This proximity to protected wilderness isn't just environmentally significant; it contributes to the unique growing conditions that make Araponga coffees so distinctive.
The Cultivars
This lot features Red and Yellow Catuaí alongside Catucaí, varieties with deep roots in Brazilian coffee history.
Catuaí was developed by the Instituto Agronômico in Campinas, Brazil, crossing the highly productive Mundo Novo with the compact Caturra. Its name comes from the Guaraní word meaning "very good." Red Catuaí cherries ripen to a deep cardinal red with thick, waxy skin, typically producing cups with milk chocolate, roasted almond, and caramelised sugar notes, complemented by hints of red fruit and warm spice. Yellow Catuaí tends toward sweeter, more floral characteristics.
Catucaí emerged from a 1988 cross between Icatu and Catuaí, combining vigorous growth with moderate resistance to coffee leaf rust. It's known for well-balanced, flavourful cups with good body.
When naturally processed, as this lot is, these varieties typically emphasise chocolate and caramel sweetness, characteristics you'll find in abundance here.
Processing
This coffee underwent a carefully controlled natural process designed to develop complexity while ensuring clean, consistent drying.
After harvest, the cherries were passed through a washing station to separate them by density, selecting only the ripest, most uniform fruit. From there, they moved to raised drying beds, which were left uncovered for the first two days. During this initial phase, the cherry layers were kept deliberately thick to encourage the fruit's natural fermentation, allowing sugars to develop and flavours to concentrate.
After two days, once the moisture content had begun to drop, the layers were thinned out and the beds covered. This slower, more controlled drying phase, taking an average of ten days, ensured even moisture reduction throughout each cherry, resulting in a uniform and stable final product.
The result is a coffee that balances the classic Brazilian profile of milk chocolate, caramel, and macadamia nut with brighter notes of red apple and orange, all carried by a smooth, creamy body.
- Country: Brazil
- State: Minas Gerais
- Region: Matas de Minas
- Micro-region: Araponga
- Altitude: 950 – 1,400 m.a.s.l
- Varietals: Red and Yellow Catuaí, Catucaí
- Process: Natural (dried on raised beds)
- Harvest: Hand-picked
- Drying: 12 days total on suspended beds (2 days uncovered, 10 days covered)