The 100 years of tradition in coffee-growing in Carmo de Minas, in southern Minas Gerais, are interlaced with the history of the Sertão Group / Carmo de Minas. The first cultivation of coffee in the region occurred at the Sertão Estate, which gives its name to the group.
Inherited by José Isidro Pereira and Nazareth Dias Pereira, and currently managed by their sons and in-laws, the estate is still part of the group, which also has other properties, including the Santa Inês and São Benedito estates and the São José farm.
In recent years, the Sertão Group has also been successfully engaging in the breeding and sale of girolando cattle and the cultivation and sale of corn and soybeans.
The Sertão Group is a family firm with more than 100 years of tradition in the production and commercialization of high-quality coffee. The Sertão Estate, located in Carmo de Minas, South Minas Gerais, was inherited by José Isidro Pereira and Nazareth Dias Pereira and is now managed by their sons and in-laws.
Renowned for its mineral water springs, the region of the Mantiqueira mountain range, where the Sertão Group is located, possesses a perfect combination of climate and land factors, with highly fertile soil that enable the production of fine coffee with typical characteristics, such as a full body and medium-to-high acidity, with a predominantly citric acidity. The region’s economy is based on agriculture and coffee is responsible for providing more than half the income and jobs.
The passion for work and coffee-growing and the favorable conditions found in South Minas have resulted in an expansion of group’s activities. The group now possesses a large area planted with coffee and a constantly evolving infrastructure that are capable of offering a wide variety of high quality arabica coffee to the domestic and international markets.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Brazil Fazenda Santa Ines, from H+S Coffee Roasters in Laramie, Wyoming. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS:
region: Carmo De Minas, Brazil
farm: Fazenda Santa Ines
producer: José Isidro Pereira and Nazareth Dias Pereira
association: Sertão Estate
elevation: 1000 – 1300 meters above sea level
cultivars: Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, Yellow Catuaí, Acaiá, Mundo Novo, Icatu, Catucaí.
process: pulped natural
certifications: standard
CUPPINGNOTES:
The aroma of the Brazil Fazenda Santa Ines is very mellow. Plain, in fact. It’s a quintessential Brazil, though, with scents of nuts on nuts on nuts, but it is very one-dimensional.
Immediately post-brew, this coffee is very full-bodied, but not very dense. In other words, it has a heaviness while it’s on the palate and it rests heavily in my belly, but it also has a slick, watery mouthfeel which sends the coffee slipping off the tongue.
This is a coffee that I just couldn’t get a handle on. Every make resulted in an indeterminable outcome. The first two times I made it, I used a Hario V60 and a Kalita Wave and each make tasted mostly like diner coffee—bland, stale, boring. Putting it through the Clever Dripper made the coffee’s body much more developed and fuller, but, still, the flavors were lacking.
There was a bit of roast, but it was actually pretty negligible; I also tasted some bitter dark chocolate and caramel. Again, lots of nuts. There was a stone fruit and red grape juiciness hiding somewhere in there, just waiting to gush onto the palate, but it just never happened; instead I just kept tasting hints and nuances.
Full body; watery mouthfeel; citric acidity; slightly dry finish.
*content provided by Cafe Imports
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.