Fazenda Cetec
Márcio Custódio & Heitor Botelho
Fazenda Cetec started as a childhood dream. The brothers Márcio Custódio and Izonel Junior, were born in a humble family. In their youth, they worked for the coffee farms of the region as coffee pickers. Knowing the importance of education, the young laborers left the work in the farms and began to dedicate themselves to their studies. After graduating, the brothers became university professors and after a few years as teachers, decided to create their own Technical School called CETEC – Center of Technology of the city of Lavras, in the south of Minas Gerais. This school’s objective was to provide education for young people from unwealthy households. They wanted to offer the possibility of education and a better life for these students and their families.
After more than 10 years of school existence, having trained more than 5 thousand young people, the brothers decided to make their childhood dreams come true. They bought a small farm that at the time was raising Nelore cattle, in the small city of Itumirim, indigenous name for "small waterfall", in reference to the many beautiful waterfalls in its surroundings. Woefully, one day after purchasing the farm, the elder Brother, Izonel Junior, passes away. This occurrence forced Márcio, shaken by the death of his dear brother, to think of selling the newly bought farm. However, he thought that he had to honor their dream and the memories of their childhood together, and decided to continue to pursue the goal of having a beautiful coffee farm. From then on, the cattle gave way to the coffee grounds, and the dedication to the farm was from the entire family. At this time, the nephew Heitor Botelho, started working on the farm with his uncle Márcio and they both named the farm Fazenda CETEC, as a way of honoring Izonel and the Technical School that through many years helped them achieve their dream.
The search for knowledge to produce excellent coffees went beyond the farm’s gates, with several courses and trips seeking the understatement of the most appropriate cultural means to produce specialty coffees. In addition to the attention to the crops and plants, their social and environmental responsibilities are well defined in the farm’s core values. Fazenda CETEC is always concerned with the safety and well-being of its employees. It invests and dedicates itself to the preservation of the environment, such as the recovery and preservation of its springs and forests, as well as the rational use of water in all their processes. Fazenda CETEC uses an ecologically correct cultural treatment where the coffee is cultivated in a consortium of grass, which prevents soil erosion and consequently the silting of the rivers, and hinders the invasion of weeds, drastically reducing the use of herbicide for the control of pests. Once grown, the producers scrub the grass and throw it under the coffee plants creating a natural organic matter and consequently reducing the application of chemical fertilizers.
This combination of productivity, quality and respect for the environment, makes Fazenda CETEC a reference in the production of specialty coffees, so appreciated all over the world.
Altitude: 1100 MASL
Variety: Catucai
Processing: Natural
Ethiopia Natural Awash River
Awash River is a curated coffee sourced from smallholder farmers serviced by the river Awash in the Sidamo region of southern Ethiopia. These farmers rely on the great river and its many tributaries to cultivate coffee and sustain their communities.
The Awash carves through almost 750 miles of Ethiopia’s great rift valley, providing a vital water source for millions. Archaeologists believe humans have lived along the river since the dawn of man. Known as “the cradle of humankind”, the middle Awash is home to some of the most important archaeological discoveries in history, including perhaps the most famous hominid fossil ever found: “Lucy”.
In a poetic twist, Ethiopia is also the birthplace of the arabica coffee tree. As farmers started to harvest the wild forest coffee of Southern Ethiopia they in turn began to cultivate them on their own land. Nevertheless, wild coffee can still be found throughout Ethiopia and is represented by thousands of distinct varieties, many of which are still cultivated by farmers in Sidamo to this day.
Origin: Ethiopia
Subregion: Sidamo
Producer Type: Small Holder Farmers Processing: Natural/Dry Processed Growing Altitude: 1800-2200m
Plant Species: Arabica
Variety: Ethiopia Heirloom Varieties
The Region
The Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions have developed a reputation for some of the most sought-after coffees in the world. With the river as a rich source of clean water; the combination of high altitude, fertile soils and abundant sunshine provides ideal conditions for arabica coffee cultivation. Heirloom arabica varietals, which still grow wild in Ethiopia, contribute to a beautifully unique cup profile typified by notes of tropical and stone fruit and light florals.
The Process
This coffee is naturally processed, whereby ripe coffee cherries are dried in the sun on patios and raised African beds for around 12-15 days, according to the ambient conditions. This sun-drying process allows for many of the sugars in the cherry pulp to transfer into the bean, presenting in the cup as complex tropical fruit flavours. The raised beds provide airflow to facilitate a consistent drying process, though the cherries are also turned periodically to prevent mould and covered at night to protect from rain and moisture. Once the ideal moisture content is reached the dried cherries are rested in a cool environment before being hulled, graded and handpicked prior to export.
DR Congo Robusta
The Producers
Katanda Coffee Washing Station (CWS) is one of 5 washing stations belonging to Virunga Coffee Company, which we setup as Schluter in 2012 to produce high quality coffees for the speciality market and increase premiums for the thousands of smallholder farmers in the region. The strategy for Virunga has been three-fold: 1) To increase production through good agronomic practice 2) to improve quality through education and strict guidelines for production and processing 3) to obtain internationally recognised certification in order to generate better revenue for farmers.
Virunga now have now trained over 2,300 famers in GAP (Good agricultural practices) and obtained organic certification for these farmers in the Isale region. They have 7 full time field officers (trained agronomists) working in the region and have planted over 400,000 seedlings to be distributed amongst the smallholders in Isale.
The Art of Production
Ripe cherries are delivered to the station for careful sorting and floatation. Once the highest quality cherries are selected they are pulped to remove the skin and most of the fruit. The coffee is then placed straight onto raised African beds, retaining some of its sugary mucilage. This parchment coffee is then dried in the sun for an average of 14 days, until the optimum moisture content has been reached. At this point the coffee is rested in a cool, dry environment for 1-2 months, before being milled, sorted and graded by bean size.
The Region
Katanda village is located in the Isale region of Nord-Kivu (North of Lake Kivu), on the edge of Virunga National Park, bordered by Uganda to the east. The region has excellent conditions for speciality arabica production with plentiful rainfall, high altitude and highly fertile volcanic soils. The region is also very poverty-stricken and has had a severe lack of infrastructure which has made high quality arabica both difficult to produce and very challenging to export. Virunga Coffee Company has sought to overcome many of these problems through hands-on farmer education and investment in local infrastructure such as roads and bridges. This has allowed quality improvements every season and, in turn, higher premiums for farmers.
