Cachoeira da Grama Canario PN (Klabin) - Brazil

Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890 and some of its original Bourbon varietal trees are over 107 years old. The farm is located at around 1,100-1,500 metres above sea level, in the Mogiana region of São Paolo State. This rolling, fertile area runs along the São Paulo side of the São Paulo/Minas border, and is home to some of Brazil’s oldest coffee farms. The region is named after the Companhia Mogiana Estrada de Ferro train line, which was founded in 1882 to transport coffee out of the many coffee farms that were expanding into the area at the time. 

Fazenda Cachoeira (meaning ‘waterfall’; ‘da Grama’ is from the name of the local town, São Sebastião da Grama) is managed by Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, nephew of the owner and a leading agronomist. The farm extends over 417 hectares, 165 hectares of which are given over to coffee. Almost all tasks on the farm are carried out by hand, as the farm’s steep topography makes the use of machines impossible.

The 100% Canario beans composing this lot were handpicked, collected on a plastic groundsheet and prepared using the Brazilian Pulped Natural method, whereby coffee is pulped and then immediately delivered to the farm’s extensive patios to be slowly and evenly dried. Coffee is regularly raked and turned to ensure the best possible impact without over-fermentation. The mill is located close to the spa town of Poços de Caldas in Minas Gerais, 45 minutes from the farm.

The farm takes social and environmental sustainability very seriously. It is powered by its own a small hydroelectric plant and only buys extra energy during the peak harvest. Waste water is fully treated to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm and there is an active tree planting programme to repopulate native species. Most workers are housed on site and the farm also offers a school, social club and a full-size soccer field for employees and their families.