Episode 328 on Monday the 23rd of February, 2015. Brazil Fazenda Passeio Pulped Natural Rubi.

The Vieira Ferreira family has specialised in coffee production for three generations and is now headed by Adolfo Vieira Ferreira, whose attention to detail and commitment to producing top-class specialty coffee is second to none.

The farm employs a high number of skilled workers to carry out most of the production process by hand, in order to guarantee quality. They do everything, from soil preparation for planting to hand-picking the ripe cherries. In return, the farm looks after its workers. Permanent workers and their families live on-site and are provided with schooling for their children, professional training and environmental education.

The farm also takes environmental sustainability seriously and abides by all Brazilian environmental protection laws. Its native forests are set aside as protected reserves and are often visited by tourists, school children and ecologists. The farm also regularly plants new trees, particularly around its water sources, in order to maintain the local ecosystem.

Passeio’s coffee is picked by hand only when the cherries reach an advanced stage of ripeness, to avoid processing green beans. Pulped natural lots such as this one are pulped and then, rather than being soaked and washed, they are immediately transferred to the patios for drying with the bean’s sticky outer mucilage still attached. The coffee is then kept in wooden resting bins for a minimum of 60 days before the final dry milling, and is sorted immediately prior to export.

The farm cultivates several different varietals: this Rubi lot, a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Catuaí. This single-varietal lot was harvested and processed separately from other lots to maintain its own, distinct characteristics.

In the cup, it's just like its Natural brother. You get sweet milk chocolate and white sugar sweetness, with a honeydew-melon acidity, and a biscuit finish.

• Country: Brazil
• Region: Minas Gerais
• City: Alfenas
• Farm: Fazenda Passeio
• Owner: Adolfo Henrique Vieira Ferreira
• Varietal: 100% Rubi
• Processing: Pulped Natural, and sun-dried on patios
• Altitude: 1,100 – 1,200 m.a.s.l.