Please note, that organic coffees are roasted on Wednesday.

Here is one of our favourite coffees. We have been sourcing Organic Brazilian Fazenda Jacaranda for you, for nearly a quarter of a century. In the last six years, Cassio has improved his drying facilities and the parabolic drying (under cover) has been a game changer in cup quality and consistency terms.

Due to popular requests, we have roasted this for espresso first and it is fantastic! Yes, of course, I am biased, but I am not alone in the sentiment.

These days Cassio is more than “just” a farmer who sends us coffee. Cassio has spent time with us here in the UK (as a friend) and has also taken me to some of the best organic coffee farms in Brazil, including his own. The plan is to update some of these pictures later in the summer, all in the name of “work” you understand.

Top Trumps

Farm: Fazenda Jacaranda
Owners: Cassio Franco Moreira, agronomist, PhD, and his mother Telma Teixeira Franco
Region; Minas Gerais
Process: Natural
Size 150 Hectares
Altitude: 1.100 – 1.250mts
Varieties: Bourbon, Catuai, Mundo Novo, Icatu, Catucai

Scale: Anual production of around 400 bags of 60kg

Espresso

I had the luxury of having this coffee set up and brewed for me today. Nathan was brewing on the Linea Classic S, a Mahlkonig E80s. 94C, 18g of coffee into 36g of liquid for the short shots and 18g into 50g for the espresso.

In a 9oz milk-based drink, Jacaranda is so sweet. Think caramel and Caramac (TM).White Chocolate.

In a 6oz milk-based drink: My notes from the morning read as “Intensely Sweet!”

Espresso:  Super soft fruity acidity, grapes and ripe lingering citrus.

Brew recipe:

18g coffee into 34-36g of espresso 28-33 for milk-based drinks and 18g into 45-50g of espresso liquid in 30 +/- seconds. 94C

Farm Stuff

The Franco family has produced coffee in these lands since 1860, originally at the Serra Negra Farm. Carlos Fernandes Franco inherited part of the Serra Negra farm in 1969 and started the Jacarandá coffee farm. He died in 2003 and was always passionate about nature and a true ecologist (also an engineer who made huge bridges in the Amazon). He was the pioneer in organic coffee production in Brazil and the farm has been certified as organic since 1992. His grandson Cassio Franco Moreira started agronomy college in 1995 already having a strong organic coffee influence.

Today the farm is divided between Carlos Franco´s widow, Francisca Franco, and her sons/daughters. All of the areas are still organically managed but some coffee plots have been abandoned due to family and farm restructuring. Today 2 daughters, 1 son, and the grandson of Carlos run several parts of Jacarandá with around 30ha of organic coffee being managed and a plan to renew more 15ha in the next 5 years. When we visited Jacaranda, the level of re-planting and reinvestment was staggering. Cassio is an optimist and a long-term thinker. Quietly, I hope that Jacaranda does so well it wins the Cup of Excellence one day, as a reward and recognition for the long-term dedication.