Brazil
Jean Vilhena
Santa Monica
Minas Gerais
Ibiraci
1240 masl
Yellow Catucai 2SL
Anaerobic fermentation
Pineapple, rockmelon, and blackberry coulis.
The Santa Monica farm is starting to get pretty famous these days. So much so that when we talk to other coffee professionals about some of the latest stuff coming out of Brazil, we'll ask--"have you tried the new Jean lot?"
Coffee runs through our veins: Jean is one of those producers who has been around coffee all his life, with his family being involved in the coffee industry for over 100 years. With coffee almost literally in his veins and his abundance of intergenerational knowledge, Jean has all the tools to produce simple, clean coffee, and sometimes he does. But occasionally, he will combine these refined traditional farming practices with proven experimental processes that culminate in a combination of skill, innovation and intuition that few can rival.
Volcano no more: You may remember Santa Monica from inspired processing methods like "The Volcano method". The Volcano method spread whole cherries out during the day and pilled them into hills overnight (like little volcanos). This technique produced sweet and sticky deep macerated cherry and black forest notes. We loved it and were kinda looking forward to a repeat feature, but when we caught wind of what Jean was doing with this brand new Lot27, we quickly hung up our nostalgia for new horizons. We were not disappointed!
This coffee refines things further, not just in terms of quality controls during processing but right through to that sparkle, cohesiveness, balance, and lingering sweet finish in the cup.
Fortunate Farming: The Santa Monica farm is pretty lucky and sits in a privileged region of Brazil. With much of Brail's coffee plantation land spanning lowland plains, Santa Monica is an exception sitting in the perfect microclimate for specialty coffee, gracing altitudes of 1240 masl.
Processing: Jean knows how unique his farm and coffee are, and he is mindful of using only environmentally friendly pesticides, steering clear of any chemical insecticides or herbicides. In recent years, Jean has invested heavily in improving and refining his fermentation processes, implementing temperature-controlled drums, with fermentation facilitated by a specific strain of yeast (sorry, no spoilers!).
Welcome back to the starting lineup Jean--We've missed you. Here for one month only!