Overview

Located in the city of Cristina, Minas Gerais, Água Limpa I Farm is an inheritance of the earthly possessions of José Alves Ribeiro. Since 1982, it has as its heir and manager José Carlos Pereira de Carvalho, who chose this crop due to the soil and microclimate conditions of the city that provides a coffee production of excellent quality. The soil is of medium and high fertility, with characteristics of dark red podzollic, located at 3937 feet of altitude, in a tropical climate with an annual average rain around 1100 mm. The annual temperatures vary between 11°C and 26 °C (51 and 78°F). The farm has around 40 hectares of native wood, and the use of fertilizers is done on a rational basis. The water draining is done in a proper way on the roads of the property, in which live five families in houses with electricity, treated water and so on. All the farm workers are registered and work within the labor laws. These people deal with the harvest, which is done by hand due to the uneven soil. It is interesting to observe the quality of the coffee produced in the Água Limpa I Farm. It won the first place in 2002 at the “Contest of BSCA Special Coffee”, for the first time, which helped it to sell its coffee on an International Auction for a record price at that time: “The most expensive coffee of the world”. Then, the producer was stimulated to invest on machinery and covered patios, preserving and improving the quality of the coffee of Água Limpa I Farm. In 2005, it was classified among the 10 best coffees at the “II State Contest of Coffee Quality of Minas EMATER/MG” and 5° place at the “7° Contest of Brazil Coffee Quality Cup of Excellence”.

Processing system of the coffee beans

The harvest is by hand due to the necessity to harvest only coffee berries and to the difficulty of mechanization because of the uneven soil. The process is the Pulped natural, which means a selective washing through the machinery that separates the dry beans from the coffee berries and after the Pulped machine. The drying is done on a covered and cemented patio in slim layers, turning from 20 to 28 times a day, reaching a total of 15 to 20 days of drying per sample. The dryer machine is not used. After that, the coffee is stored in pergaminos inside burlap bags, in a storehouse of the property, resting from 60 o 90 days.

Concern on the quality

The chosen seedlings are certified and healthy, with adapted genetics that was tested for the region. There was a concern on the soil preservation since the planting, and techniques of contour curve, annual soil analysis and proper management of manure were used. The harvest is selective and the coffee washing is done with water of good quality, from natural sources. The management of the coffee on the covered patios is well done, protecting the coffee from the rain. And the dryer is not used so that the drying of the coffee beans is slow and homogenous. Besides, the process is controlled since the harvest until the sending to the warehouses of the local Cooperative.