Brazil Silvio Leite PCA Lot 11 Filter

At Cerca de Pedra São Benedito, processing starts on the field. The team closely monitors the Brix degree of coffee cherries, as this gives the team a great indication of when the cherries have hit peak maturation – the perfect time for picking.

Here, the cherries were carefully harvested by hand, mostly by local women (called “panhadeiras de cafe”) who are extremely disciplined and ensure only the the very best cherries are selected.

After pulping, the fresh mucilage was anaerobically fermented in tanks, with water covering the coffee for 12 hours. The parchment was then transferred to raised African beds and dried slowly for 15 days, then finished in a greenhouse for a further 5 days. During this time, it was regularly turned to ensure even drying.