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Brazil

São Lourenço

São Lourenço

A rich natural Paraíso from Flavio Guimarães, on his regenerative agriculture project in the Cerrado Mineiro region

$18.00 USD
$18.00 USD
Size

About

Coffee Expression This natural Paraíso clearly communicates the sweet character of it’s Catuai heritage, with sweet notes of dates and caramel.

Producer Flavio built the business from the start with considered and careful agricultural practices at the core, taking his stewardship of the land seriously.

Whole Bean Coffee / Both for filter and espresso

Brewing Advice

Water is one of the most critical components of an excellent coffee experience. We recommend using mineral water of a soft Total Dissolved Solids count, ideally below 150 ppm. 

Rested coffee During the resting process, harsh and astringent flavors, which can even be perceived as a ‘roast’ character, soften out, allowing a clearer and brighter expression of the coffee’s character to shine.  

We recommend resting our coffees for at least 10 days after the roast date, and we often find excellent results, especially for particularly dense coffees, beyond 6 weeks.

Brewing Our straightforward approach to coffee carries over into brewing. We recommend our roasted coffee for all brew methods, regardless of whether it is immersion, percolation or espresso. We believe that there is one correct way to roast a single coffee, roasting lightly, in such a way as to release its innate qualities and showcase its quality. Learn more about different brewing techniques and specific brew guides here.

Technical Data

Producer  Flavio Guimarães

Region Cerrado Mineiro

Altitude 1000 masl

Varietal  Paraíso

Process Natural

Harvest August 2023

Taste Expression Sweet & Balanced

Shipping & Delivery

· Free shipping on US orders above $79 and on orders above $99 to Mexico and Canada

· Ships within 1-3 days from Brooklyn, New York

· Coffee is roasted to order

· More info

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São Lourenço

São Lourenço is located in Varjão de Minas, in the Cerrado Mineiro region. Flavio Guimarães bought Fazenda São Lourenço in 1977, and expanded soon after to the Brasis and Santa Rita farms, both in the same region. They have built their business from the start with considered and careful agricultural practices at their core, taking their stewardship of their land seriously. As is seen often in Brazil, huge swathes of the farm are dedicated to reserved nature, with native species of flora and fauna retained in biodiverse areas of forest. In the case of Flavio’s farms, over half of the total area is dedicated to areas like these.

They have also been supported by Dutch NGO ReNature to hone their practices on the farm further, planting varietals that are more drought and disease resistant, those that function and yield well without the same levels of chemical fertiliser and pesticides. This move towards regenerative agriculture has been excellent for Flavio’s farms, and seems to also be improving quality. Quality has also been a bog focus of Flavio’s work at São Lourenço since the start, aiming to grow some of the finest coffees in the country.

Natural Paraíso

This lot is of the Paraíso varietal, one of many crossings of the Catuai varietal and Timor Robusta hybrids, a group often known as Catimors. Paraíso was released in 2012 by EPAMIG (The Minas Gerais Agricultural Research and Development Company), and is known for its short structure, high yields, and disease resistance. The trees also start fruiting after two years, compared to the normal three, which represents a huge saving for farmers. While this lot is a natural, a pulped natural lot of Paraíso from the same farm won Illy’s quality competition for the whole of Brazil this year, being crowned ‘The Best of the Best’.

This lot’s full natural process leads to a heavy and rich profile, clearly communicating the intense sweetness from Paraíso’s Catuai heritage, with notes of caramel, dates and jammy cherry.

Cerrado Mineiro

The region of Cerrado Mineiro is part of the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. In 2013 the region became the first in Brazil to be granted a protected designation of origin certificate, similar to Champagne or Scotch whisky. To qualify for the title ‘Cerrado’, the coffees must be speciality grade and grown above 800 masl in the Cerrado Mineiro region. The 4500 producers of the Cerrado region produces 6 million bags of coffee a year, from 210,000 hectares of coffee growing lands. Most of the lands here are of quite low altitude compared to most of the coffee we buy here at La Cabra, and are more flat, rather than on more mountainous terrain. The region has characteristic and distinct seasons, with a wet warm summer, and a dry winter, leading to more consistency in growing conditions between years. The dry climate during harvest means less issues with drying coffees, part of the reason so many high quality naturals are produced here.