Brazil is THE major player in the world of international coffee, producing in excess of 48 million sacks and exporting more than 30 million sacks during 2011. Such is the importance of Brazilian coffee in satisfying the world’s caffeine craving, that even slight variations in yields across the country have a significant impact on the world price for both Robusta and Arabica.

Located in the beautiful Sao Sebastiao da Grama Valley, almost directly north of Brazil’s major coffee port Santos, this months Yahava Specialty Estate comes from Fazenda Irarema. The estate occupies 250Ha on the volcanic slopes of the Mantiqueira mountains, at altitudes of 1,100m to 1,300m, in the heart of the famous Mogiana coffee region. 200Ha is planted to Arabica coffee, of which 40% is the prized Yellow Bourbon, producing 6,000 sacks of natural and pulped natural coffee annually.

Established more than 100 years ago, the estate was purchased in 2003 by Raymond Rebetez who immediately set about upgrading the infrastructure to include modern wash tanks, pulpers and drying patios, allowing absolute focus on producing the best possible coffee. New milling and warehouse facilities were also added, which enables complete traceability of all estate coffees. Most importantly, Raymond has continued to carefully maintain the long-established Yellow Bourbon trees, including some that date back to the original plantings in 1893!!!
 
For our Specialty Estate release we decided to source Irarema’s pulped natural yellow bourbon. The pulped natural process was developed in Brazil and involves sun drying of the beans, after pulping, with their sweet, sticky mucilage left on. The natural sugars of the mucilage are absorbed into the bean itself and create a richer, sweeter coffee perfect for espresso.

We’ve taken the Fazenda Irarema into the 2nd crack, to highlight its beautiful rum spice and toffee sweetness. This coffee is round, generous and soft in the mouth, with rich, plummy fruits and anise spice. Perfect for espresso, the Irarema Pulped Natural will also suit softer brewing (filter, plunger) and produce a rich, satisfying cup (perfect as we start heading into the cooler months!!!)

ENJOY!
The Koffee Apprentice