Coffee production at scale first began in Brazil in the late 18th century under Portuguese colonial rule. By the 19th century Brazil's coffee production exploded, and today the South American nation is the largest coffee producer and exporter in the world. Most of that coffee is generic commodity-grade, with nutty and chocolatey notes that make it a popular choice to round out familiar café blends. However, in the '90s Brazil began to stake a claim in the specialty coffee scene, and since then has produced many exceptional specialty-grade lots.

This particular lot, roasted by our friends at Cedar, comes from a farm we've been introduced to before, and we're happy to have it back on our shelves. Fazenda Santa Cruz is a family-owned farm located in the picturesque mountainous region of Minas Gerais, the soil, climate and altitude of which makes it one of Brazil's premier coffee producing regions. You can read more about Santa Cruz itself in Cedar's notes below.

This lot is one of Santa Cruz's smaller lots and has undergone an innovative and increasingly popular anaerobic processing method. Anaerobic processing is a relatively new experimental coffee processing technique that involves submerging coffee in large, airtight containers. These barrels are sealed, and the coffee is left to ferment under oxygen-deprived conditions for several days, before being removed and dried. Coffee naturally ferments over time due to the sugars it contains and the bacteria that live on its surface, and the oxygen constrained environment involved in an anaerobic process result in the production of a totally different set of chemical compounds than in a more traditional process.

This particular coffee has undergone a natural anaerobic process, meaning that until the end of the drying phase the coffee cherry was left intact, allowing its fruity flavours to infuse into the seed (what most know as the coffee "bean"). This can result in  the development of exotic and complex flavours in the eventual cup, such as bold fruit notes and wine-like acidity. 

Phaedon's tasting notes

This is quite a quirky Brazilian coffee. It doesn't really have any of those stereotypical Brazilian characteristics. Even as an anaerobic lot, it's quite surprising, as it's not exploding with fermented fruit notes, by any means. On the contrary, I was quite surprised by how floral this coffee was; it almost reminded me of herbal tea, with a nice bit of honey-sweetness to complement it.

Cedar's Notes

"On filter we picked up notes of blueberries, quite aromatic on the nose with a round mouthfeel. The colour that kept coming to mind was purple and blue throughout. Espresso still had this fruit element to it but we also picked up notes of marzipan. The milk based drink was a pleasant sweetness of milk chocolate."

• Cup profile: Blueberry, marzipan, milk chocolate

Coffee details from Cedar

"Brazilian coffees have always been found in blends for good reason; their strengths lie in providing a solid base of bolder flavour notes and heavier body. Recently we've been cupping quite a few Brazilian lots that have changed our perception of what they can taste like. One of those lots we would like to introduce to you is Fazenda Santa Cruz

"Located in the south of Minas headed by Josiani Moraes, initially this was a farm growing orange trees acquired in 1992. Josiani saw the potential to invest in coffee production with a high focus on quality. Santa Cruz has been built on a self-sustainable model by using their organic compost and recycling the water used on crops earning them a Carbon Neutral seal.

"Josiani also pushes coffee education, often hosting lectures and workshops with neighbouring farmers on coffee production.This particular lot we've sourced is one of their smaller handpicked lots that have gone through an anaerobic process which would explain what we picked up in our cup profile."

• Farm: Fazenda Santa Cruz
• Producer: Josiani Moraes 
• Country: Brazil 
• Region: Paraguaçu, Minas Gerais
• Process: Anaerobic Natural
• Altitude: 1100 masl
• Variety: Icatu