Brazil – Fazenda Rainha

This coffee comes from Fazenda Rainha (pronounced “hai-nya”), an award-winning 280-hectare estate situated in Brazil’s Vale da Grama, an ancient volcanic valley that spans the borderlands between São Paulo State (still referred to as Mogiana in the coffee world) and the state of Minas Gerais. Fazenda Rainha is located just across the Mogiana side of the border. A repeat finalist in the country’s Cup of Excellence competition, Fazenda Rainha took home first prize in 2011.

200 hectares of the estate’s land is planted with the heirloom Yellow Bourbon variety. The region’s rolling hills make mechanical harvesting impossible – all the coffee from Fazenda Rainha is hand-picked. Wet milling, patio and mechanical drying, as well as machine sorting are all accomplished on-site by the farm’s full-time, year-round employees, all of whom also reside on the farm. In addition to housing, healthcare and education are provided to the workers and their families.

The farm is part of a small group of medium-sized estates in the Grama Valley region that utilize the export services of Bourbon Specialty. Their offices in nearby Poços de Caldas (pronounced “po-shows”) boast a state-of-the art cupping lab and ample warehousing space. The group have collaborated with local universities and luminaries, including Dr. Flavio Borém, who heads the famed agricultural center at University of Lavras, to perform research.