Roast: light / / / / / / / / / dark

Process: Pulped Natural

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

This Brazilian selection boasts big stone fruit notes, like apricots. It is sweet and tangy like a tangerine and has a rich sweetness reminiscent of grape jelly. The coffee variety and processing method used to craft this offering will appeal to those who like a heavier mouthfeel and milder acidity. 

Ivanyse Carvalho oversees Fazenda Catigua in Minas Gerais, Brazil – a family farm purchased by her parents in 1974 when it was just pasture for grazing cattle. After years of dedication, they transformed it into a coffee farm that produces 2,000 bags/year. Ivanyse left her job as a lawyer in 2013 to take over farm operations from her parents. Now she and her children, with her father’s help, are responsible for all farm operations. 

Many coffee varieties and processing techniques have been meticulously incorporated into their production. This yellow bourbon was processed with, what Brazilians call, the pulped natural method that’s commonly used throughout the country. Pulped naturals are very similar to honey-processed coffees because both require the outer skin of the coffee cherry to be removed before drying, exposing the fruit pulp (or mucilage) underneath. While in honey processing, some amount of the fruit pulp might be removed before drying, pulped naturals leave the entire fruit pulp to dry. This speeds up the drying process and produces a cup with a thick texture, ripe sweetness, and clean acidity. When coupled with the fruity characteristics of yellow bourbon, its depth of flavor does not disappoint! This coffee has continued to impress me. I’m pleased to have another Brazil back in the lineup thanks to Collaborative Coffee Source.