Basecamp Coffee - 1kg

Our latest instalment of Basecamp coffee comes to us from Fazenda Santa Maria in Brazil. The estate is owned by Maria Dorotéia Rennó Moreira who grew up there with her siblings. The land has been a coffee plantation since the 1800’s, which speaks to the long history and culture of coffee cultivation in the area. The farm itself has been in Maria’s family since her great grandfather acquired it. According to Maria, her great grandfather unexpectedly lost his wife and in his despair he handed over the administration of the farm to his eldest son. His son was “a man of vision” and prepared his brothers and sisters to take on roles on the farm. Under his guidance they worked together and saved enough to buy a farm for each brother over the years. Fazenda Santa Maria came to be owned by Maria’s mother’s uncle. In 1999 Maria’s mother and father bought the farm, which was then passed on to her. 

Maria tells us that the women of the family have had roles on the farm, overseeing post-harvest processing and influencing property decisions, since the time of her mother’s uncle’s ownership. Her mother’s aunt Estephania was a determined woman, she says. While her husband went to the coffee field she was responsible for the coffee yard, ensuring the correct post-harvest drying and processing. Sinhá Moreira, Maria’s mother’s cousin, was another woman to look up to. She was “an example of entrepreneurship,” Maria says.

But, when Maria took over in 2009 the farm was in decline and some of the workers hesitated to follow a woman’s leadership. “When I took over it was very difficult,” she says. “I gathered the employees, introduced myself and said that from that day on it would be me that they would report to. My best employee said that he would not work here anymore. This was in front of everyone, in my first contact with the employees. At that moment I decided that to manage I needed to take a firm stance. I thanked him for the time he was part of the team and asked if anyone else wanted to leave the farm. I faced, and still face, many difficulties, especially in the administration of people, mostly men, who rule at home and do not want to ‘obey’ a woman.”

Maria says that through these challenges she kept thinking about Sinhá Moreira. “How many times she must have had to face this kind of problem! If she managed to do a wonderful job even though she was a woman, in the 50s, I could also take care of what was mine.” Maria turned the farm around and today it is flourishing and producing exceptional coffee like this one.

Fazenda Santa Maria is located in Mantiqueira de Minas, which has a protected geographical indication certificate recognizing the unique flavours of the coffee grown there. Interestingly, our previous Basecamp coffee, from Sítio Rochina, was the same variety (Catuaí), grown at the same altitude and processed in the same way, and yet there are distinctive flavour differences. Santa Maria is more fruity and nuanced, which shows the impact of terroir on coffee. Generally, coffee grown in Mantiqueira de Minas is known for floral and citrus notes, a dense and creamy body, medium-bright acidity and a long, sweet finish. 

The Catuaí (pronounced kat-wa-ee) variety is a cross between highly productive Mundo Novo and compact Caturra, made by the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) of Sao Paulo State in Campinas, Brazil. It’s a dwarf plant, which means it can be spaced close together in the rows. According to World Coffee Research it can be cultivated at nearly double the density of Bourbon plants. Its small size and ability to be planted densely contributes to its high yield, which is one of the main benefits of the variety. Catuaí’s weakness is its susceptibility to coffee leaf rust, one of the most prevalent coffee diseases to blight Arabica plants. Coffee leaf rust can wipe out entire fields of coffee plants and, because it’s a fungus, it spreads rapidly from one farm to another. 

This is the second coffee we’ve purchased from a new specialty Brazil importer called Unic. Founded in 2021 the company has just four employees, but seems to be growing quickly, probably due in no small part to how excellent their coffee is. It’s hard to be competitive in the Brazilian coffee market because it’s so large. Brazil exports more coffee than any other country in the world, so buyers have a lot of options.

Unic caught our eye with the quality of their offering and the story of their founder, Thalita Masiero. Brazilian by birth, her family has a long-standing connection to agriculture and in 2019 they acquired a farm in Santa Rita do Sapucai, Minas Gerais, situated in the Serra da Mantiqueira region. The farm had a neglected coffee plantation that they decided to revitalise. Through conversations with locals and individuals in the coffee community, Thalita came across a group of women called Enpreendedoras do Cafe who inspired her. She decided to embrace the opportunity to bring coffee to the UK and make a positive impact. “Instead of simply being another trader, I am part of their community,” Thalita tells us.

If variety is the spice of your life, check out our Variety Pack HERE - all four of our current single origin coffees (250g of each), available as beans or ground for £44.