Brazil

Although Cerrado is one of Brazil’s relatively new coffee-growing regions, it has quickly risen to earn a reputation for high-quality specialty coffee. What it offers a roaster above everything else is consistency.

The land is kept balanced and fertile by well-defined wet and dry seasons and abundant sunlight. The region sits in the southwest of Minas Gerais on unusually flat ground, 900 to 1,250 metres above sea level, which allows mechanical harvesting that steeper origins simply cannot manage.

Because it is always sunny there, producers let the cherries dry on the tree rather than moving them to raised beds. That extra time on the branch concentrates sugar and flavour with minimal fermentation — intensity without the funk. We roast it medium dark: the natural process gives us so much sugar to work with that a darker finish deepens the chocolate without scorching the fruit.