About This Coffee
Juliano Mendonça Araujo and brothers have been cultivating coffee at Rancho Fundo since the 1980s. They make great efforts to engage in sustainable farming practices and have succeeded in achieving a number of sustainability certifications, including Rainforest Alliance, 4C, Fairtrade and IMPACT verified as a result of their efforts.
The brothers cultivate a number of coffee varieties, including Topázio, Yellow Catuaí, Rubi, Mundo Novo and Arara. The farm, which is situated at an altitude of 830 meters above sea level, produces an average of 37 sacks per hectare, totaling approximately 6,500 bags annually. Sustainable practices and a focus on quality have helped the brothers position Rancho Fundo as a trusted producer in the specialty coffee market.
The Araujo Family is also the supplier of coffee to the skincare brand ‘Kapeh’, which incorporates coffee into a range of cosmetics, including soaps and lotions. Kapeh put a high value on environmental and social welfare, making Rancho Fundo the brand’s supplier of choice.
Cultivation
Rancho Fundo prioritizes environmental and social sustainability through practices that protect biodiversity and minimize environmental impact. These efforts have earned the farm multiple sustainability certifications. In 2025, the farm plans to further improve its resource efficiency and production capacity by implementing an irrigation system on 120 hectares. By adhering to ethical and environmentally friendly practices, Rancho Fundo sets a benchmark for responsible coffee production in the region.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Coffee is harvested mechanically at Rancho Fundo, made possible by the relatively level terrain that is typical of Sul de Minas. Mechanized harvesting is efficient and cost effective and has progressed significantly over the last decade. Today’s mechanical harvesters are increasingly sensitive, meaning that farms with a specialty orientation (like Rancho Fundo) can harvest only fully ripe cherries at each pass.
After harvesting, coffee is processed using diverse methods at Rancho Fundo. The farm has the capacity to process high quality natural, pulped natural, and fully washed lots.
About Peaberries
PB stands for peaberry. Peaberry is a name given to a very specific shape of coffee bean. In Spanish, peaberries are called “caracol”, which means “snail”. The name aptly describes the shape of the peaberry bean, which appears slightly curved in on itself.
Peaberries are the result of a natural mutation in the coffee cherry. Whereas there are usually two beans nestled together in each fruit, a cherry with a peaberry mutation only forms one bean. Thus, peaberries are a single, rounder bean.
Peaberry mutations occur in approximately 5% of all coffee. The beans are known for being rounder, smaller and denser, which can contribute to a more even roast color when handled correctly. Many people find peaberries to have a sweeter flavor profile, as well.
Since peaberries are a natural mutation that is not visible from the outside of the cherry, peaberries must be sorted out during the screen grading stage of dry milling. The peaberry screens have the smallest holes, which are oblong to allow the rounder beans to fall through.
Coffee in Brazil
Just under 40% of all coffee in the world is produced in Brazil - around 3.7 million metric tons annually. With so much coffee produced, it’s no wonder that the country produces a wide range of qualities. Brazil produces everything from natural Robusta, to the neutral and mild Santos screen 17/18, to the distinctive Rio Minas 17/18. In recent years, Brazilian producers have also begun investing more heavily in specialty coffee production. Through our in-country partners in Brazil, including our sister company, we are able to provide a wide range of Brazilian coffees to our clients: from macrolot to microlot.
Today, the most prolific coffee growing regions of Brazil are Espirito Santo, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Bahia. Most Brazilian coffee is grown on large farms that are built and equipped for maximizing production output through mechanical harvesting and processing. The relatively flat landscape across many of Brazil’s coffee regions combined with high minimum wages has led most farms to opt for this type of mechanical harvesting over selective hand-picking.
In the past, mechanization meant that strip-picking was the norm; however, today’s mechanical harvesters are increasingly sensitive, meaning that farms can harvest only fully ripe cherries at each pass, which is good news for specialty-oriented producers.
In many cases and on less level sections of farms, a mixed form of ‘manual mechanized’ harvesting may be used, where ripe coffee is picked using a derriçadeira – a sort of mechanized rake that uses vibration to harvest ripe cherry. A tarp is spanned between coffee trees to capture the cherry as it falls.
With the aid of these newer, more selective technologies, there’s a growing number of farms who are increasingly concerned with – and able to deliver - cup quality.