Casa Almeida Barreto Espresso - Brazil

We are thrilled to continue and extend our collaboration with Casa Almeida Barreto, a family estate focused on the production of the high end specialty coffee and wine from Brazil whom we directly purchase coffee from. 

The quality of their coffee is palpable in every sample. After a chat at the beginning of our partnership with Jorge and Gabriel, we first understood this as possible as a result of their extensive background in enology, agronomy and fermentation techniques, as this farm was first bought with the intention of solely producing wine.  

Due to already existing old and well established coffee trees in the farm, Jorge and his family realised it would be a pity to waste them - that is how their coffee production journey started. 

With a scientific and artisanal approach towards production, they continuously research  terroirs and develop methods that can better express each variety and achieve great results in the cupping table. 

For the past years they have been improving fermentation and drying methods to better maintain the aromas and taste from the cherries, while exploring different profiles. Using the stainless-steel tanks and technology from the wine facilities, they were able to better control fermentation of the coffee, bringing up very interesting flavour profiles.

HARVEST 2024

" 2024 may be seen as one of the toughest years for coffee
production in Brazil in the recent history. After the 2023 harvest in
August, rainfalls from October to March were pronouncedly below
average, impacting the flowering and fertility of the plants. This
led to a lower quantity of cherries on the trees, and beans with
smaller screen size.

From April 2024 onwards, almost no rainfall occurred, in one of
the most severe draughts Brazil has ever seen (or at least the most
tragic in the 70 years where measurements have been made).
This has led to huge wildfires widespread throughout the country,
including the Amazon.

Luckily, due to our farm’s location and vegetation, wildfires did
not reach us, and draught has been moderately controlled by
high organic matter content of our soils and other agricultural
practices.

Quality was very good, but the absence of rainfall led to coffee
beans with dryer mucilage, which precluded us from performing
some fermentation projects and honey-processes we were
developing.

As our usual trademark, due to our high altitude, the hot days
and cool nights allowed the perfect maturation and drying of our
coffee, keeping both sugar and acidity high.

Deepening our winemaker’s approach towards coffeemaking, this
year we have meticulously subdivided the production in small
lots. In order to better express each terroirs’ uniqueness, several
plots were selected according to not only coffee variety, but also
soil type, sun exposure, altitude, microclimate, and post-harvest
processing. "

- Casa Almeida Barreto

If you'd like to know more about these exceptional producers, check them out here.