Roasted hazelnuts dipped in sticky toffee fill the cup, before shifting into dark chocolate on the finish and walnut on the aftertaste for a sweet, smooth, easy drinking coffee.
We've been buying from Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama for over 20 years. That's not loyalty for loyalty's sake. It's because this farm consistently produces exceptional coffee, and frankly, we'd be daft to look elsewhere.
The Carvalho Dias family have called it home since 1890, and some of those original Bourbon trees are well over a century old. In 2016, Bourbon Specialty Coffees came on board to co-manage the farm, turning it into a genuine hub for variety research and processing innovation. Tradition and curiosity, side by side. We're into that.
Deep in Mogiana
The farm sits just three kilometres from the Minas Gerais border, with characteristics of both the mountainous Mogiana and Sul de Minas regions. The terrain is steep, ranging from 1,100 to 1,300 metres above sea level, with rich red volcanic soil, 1,800 to 2,000mm of annual rainfall, and an average temperature of 19°C. Practically purpose-built for growing great coffee.
Mogiana is one of Brazil's oldest growing regions, and it earned its name honestly. The Companhia Mogiana railway was founded in 1882 to carry coffee out of the expanding farms nearby. Locals called it the Coffee Train. More than 1 million bags still come out of the valley every year.
Picked by hand
At Cachoeira, there's no shortcut to harvest. The steep terrain makes mechanisation impossible, so everything is done by hand: planting, pruning, picking. That level of attention shows. The farm has been a multiple finalist at Brazil's Cup of Excellence, and it's not hard to see why. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, an agronomic engineer and one of Brazil's leading agronomists, oversees it all.
The farm spans over 400 hectares, with around 84 dedicated to coffee. The rest goes to work for the community and the environment. Native species are planted alongside the coffee crops to support biodiversity, part of a partnership with SOS Mata Atlântica to restore trees native to the Atlantic Forest. Workers on site have access to a school, a club, a full-sized football field, and 47 houses with modern facilities. There's also a small hydroelectric plant and proper wastewater treatment on the premises. This is what doing things properly actually looks like.
Pulped natural processing
Pulped natural processing is practically synonymous with Brazil: the country pioneered it, and Cachoeira da Grama does it beautifully. The coffee cherry is de-pulped to remove the outer skin, but unlike a fully washed coffee, the sticky fruit mucilage is left clinging to the bean as it dries. That drying typically happens on raised beds or patios over several weeks, with the sugars in the mucilage slowly fermenting and absorbing into the bean. The result sits somewhere between the clean brightness of a washed coffee and the full-bodied intensity of a natural: structured and clear, but with a lush caramel sweetness underneath. It's a method that rewards patience, and at this altitude, with this much care, it shows.
- Country: Brazil
- State: São Paulo
- Region: Vale da Grama, Mogiana
- Nearest city: São Sebastião da Grama
- Farm: Cachoeira da Grama
- Producer: Gabriel de Carvalho Dias
- Altitude: 1,250 m.a.s.l.
- Farm size: 411 hectares
- Coffee growing area: 84 hectares
- Harvest months: May-September
- Annual production: 4,000 bags
- Processing: Pulped Natural
- Varietal: Yellow Bourbon
- Varieties grown: Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, Yellow Catuaí, Red Catuaí, Yellow Catucaí, Canário, Mundo Novo, Arara
- Harvest methods: Manual, derriçadeiras, selective picking