Name of farm: Fazenda Do Salto
Region: Sul de Minas, Minas Gerais
Processing type: Natural
Variety: Yellow Bourbon, Mundo Novo, Icatu
Altitude: 1,080 to 1,140 meters above sea level
Dr. Fabio Araujo Reis, owner at Fazenda do Salto, works with his two sons to run their family farm and allow it to thrive. Andre and Juca work with 35 year-round employees, many of whom grew up near the farm, choosing to return to Fazenda do Salto after finishing school. Here, coffee is harvested mechanically, dried on 8 rotational machines and 8 static layer dryers, which maintain constant airflow with a combination of cold and warm air. Initially, the coffee dries in static boxes for 12 hours during pre-fermentation. Cold air is utilized to dry the cherries for 4 days before switching to warm air for 3 additional days until moisture content reaches 15 percent. For the final drying phase, the coffee is exposed to intermittent warm and cold air every 12 hours until it reaches 11 percent moisture.
