Fazenda Bonfim, Brazil

Creamy mix of milk chocolate and vanilla, and a deep dried fruit sweetness.

La Cabra on Fazenda Bonfim: “Fazenda Bonfim is a family-run farm in the Cerrado Mineiro region of Brazil, not far from the city of Patrocínio. Ariovaldo and his wife both come from coffee-producing families in the state of Paraná, but unpredictable and adverse climate conditions for coffee growing led to a search for a new location to ply their trade. In 1987, they found their way to Cerrado, where they found a much better environment for their plants. Cerrado is a more established coffee producing area, mainly for climate reasons, but this brings other challenges. Initially, the Bonfim family struggled with the higher cost of production in Cerrado, things like machinery and labour cost were much more expensive. They were also now competing to sell their crop with many established and quality focussed producers in the same region. All of this led to two things, they had to increase their productivity on the farm, and learn about and invest in coffee quality.

Over the 30 years since, Ariovaldo and his family have honed their production methods to create a profitable business, and delicious coffee. This is a great example of the potential of the Cerrado region to produce balanced and clean coffees; creamy milk chocolate is joined by a deep dried fruit sweetness, before a finish with hits of sweet vanilla.”