Cassia Mantiquiera Yellow Honey

The Carvalho family purchase Fazenda Santa Rita de Cassia in 1982. Located in Mantiquiera, a small region rich in coffee producing culture, the Carvalhos were able to draw on decades of local coffee producing knowledge to cultivate their 78 hectares.

The Carvalhos focus on high-quality cultivation and processing. They grow as Catuai, Mundo Novo, Acaia and Icatu varieties.

The higher altitude of 1,000 to 1,400 meters above sea level provides the warm days and cool nights that help concentrate sugars and produce dense, sweet beans.

Most Brazilian coffee is grown on huge farms, built and equipped for mechanical harvesting and processing, maximizing productivity. 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, this 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 derricadeira – 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.    

After harvest, cherry is pulped and laid in thick layers to dry. These deeper layers increase the temperature of drying parchment and change the profile by causing additional fermentation.  

Coming from the native Tupi word “amantikir,” Mantiqueira means “where the mountains cry.” This micro-region is located on the slopes of the Mantiqueira Mountains on the Minas Gerais side. The land borders São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states. More than 7,000 coffee growers collectively produce up to 1 million bags annually. 

The region has a long tradition of coffee growing with many generations participating in the production of excellent, world-renowned specialty coffee. In 2011, Mantiqueira gained its PGI certificate for having a differentiated sensory profile known for floral and citrus notes, a dense and creamy body, medium-bright acidity and a long, sweet finish.