Brazil – Rancho Grande

Coffee production began at the Rancho Grande Farm in 1933, when Mr. Aneite Reis inherited 5 hectares of crops to start production from. Today, the farm is run by José Carlos Reis and his son Flávio (Fafa) Reis, both son and grandson of Mr. Aneite. The farm for diversification also has many cows for dairy and meat production. The mission of the farm is to responsibly produce coffee of the highest possible quality without neglecting the importance of protecting the environment and the caring for the well-being of its employees. Several employees live on the farm in houses provided with subsidised electricity and food. On the farm they are open to change and trying new techniques and they have invested in several static drying boxes to help improve the quality & profile of the coffee they could produce. They have been working hard on improving the quality of their coffees for the specialty market and working on all aspects of the production of these lots from the growing, picking and post harvest treatment.

Once the coffee has been mechanically harvested it is then separated using density which separates the levels of ripeness. The boia ripe cherry) and boian (slightly over ripe) are then chosen to be put into the static drying boxes. These are 1 m deep boxes with capacity for 15000 litre volume of cherry which equates to 25-30 bags of green coffee. The boxes have a vented grill at the bottom to allow for air to be circulated from below up through the drying coffee. Initially cold air will be blown for 12 hours to help slow the fermentation process and then gradually the air temperature will be increased to allow drying for between 7 – 10 days. There are two thermometers at different depths to ensure a safe temperature always below 40c. They are referred to as static due to the coffee remaining still in the boxes and not being turned or rotated during drying. After it is dried the coffee is then left to rest for approximately 1- 2 weeks before being milled. This method has allowed the production of more fruity and prominent profiles from the usual profile we associate with Brazil natural coffee.