The dos Santos family have deep roots across the mountain range of Caconde, producing coffee for over 40 years. This season, our Red Bourbon lot is sweetly flavoured with notes of vanilla and chocolate.
Ivan is the younger brother of Gertrudes and Joao Hamilton dos Santos. Together with his siblings and wife Rose, a partnership began with FAF (Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza or Environmental Fortress Farm) in 2008 to change to sustainable, quality driven coffee farming. Fast forward and a whole region has been transformed, with neighbours collaborating and following the best possible farming practices.
Named after the Brazilian Roadrunner which is native to the area, Ivan and Roses Sitio Seriema farm is a model of modern, responsible coffee production. We first tasted coffees from the family in 2014 and they have helped change our perception of Brazilian coffees. With a high proportion of Brazilian coffee produced at the lower ‘commodity’ standard, it has been an intriguing journey to see the beautiful terroir of the country properly expressed.
Our relationship with Ivan and Rose has grown over the years and we have started investing in upgrades at their farm. With improved water treatment facilities the farm now fully cleans all water before releasing it back into the environment. Working with FAF, this project is now spreading across the region: helping to deliver a more sustainable model of coffee production.
Ripe cherries are picked by hand to be naturally processed and dried on the farm. At the height of the season, when the volume of picked cherries is greatest, beans are sometimes transferred to the neighbouring fazenda belonging to Ivans brother. For their naturally processed lots, the whole cherry is transferred to raised African beds to slowly dry in the sun. The warmth of the region provides the perfect conditions for high quality natural processing that helps to impart sweet depth to the beans.
