Hazelnut, mandarin, red fruits

Producers: Manoelito  Santos, Sidmar  Da Silva.
Origin: Bahia, Brazil
Elevation: 800-1200 masl
Varietal: Catuai

Tropical Bahia is a product of unique circumstances. Producers based in the highest elevations in state of Bahia have some of the best coffee cultivation conditions in Brazil but often encounter problems with drying due to high humidity and rainfall during the harvest and processing season. For this reason many choose to transport their cherries around 50km to the neighbouring Caatinga biome, known for its warmer, drier climate. En route, the cherries undergo a unique fermentation process in a closed truck. The process never lasts more than 24 hours, but the resulting cup profile is packed with fruity sweetness.

Producers

Manoelito Ataide Santos, Fazenda Baixadao

“I had great influence from my Father who has always lived in the countryside. I left other activities that I had, and decided to be a coffee producer, just like my father was, replicating his knowledge.”

Sidmar Candido Da Silva, Fazenda Campo Belo

“Coffee is our main source of income. Our Family comes together and carries out all the harvest and post-harvest work together. With great dedication, we always seek to improve our coffee quality. 

History of coffee in Brazil

American colonists had been drinking coffee for fifty years before the first coffee seed was planted in Brazil in 1727. A hundred years later, Brazil accounted for 30% of the world’s coffee supply. A hundred years after that, in the 1920’s, Brazil held a virtual monopoly, producing 80% of the world’s coffee. Although Brazil’s market share peaked at 80% in the 1920’s, its continuing status as the world’s largest coffee producer still gives the country considerable influence on the market and coffee prices. It is said that when Brazil sneezes, the coffee world catches cold. In 1975, a “black frost” destroyed over 70 percent of the crop in Brazil and coffee prices doubled world-wide. Brazil was a founding member of the Pan-American Coffee Bureau, which invented the concept of a “coffee break,” during an advertising campaign in the early 1950’s.