We are happy to announce that we are bringing coffees from the Vinhal Family to our menu for the 2nd year in a row. This family has been producing coffee since 1988. They are 3rd generation of farmers, producing a wide range of varieties, such as Red Catuaí­, Yellow Catuaí­, Topazio, and Yellow Icatu at an average altitude of 950 masl. Their biggest challenge is to combine productivity, sustainability and quality. What stands out from this family is that every member is involved in the production and is a passion about post-harvest processing. You will find all types of processing methods, from Washed, Honey to Natural, which is uncommon for Brazil. Their farms (Fazenda Recanto and Estrella) are Rainforest Alliance, 4C (Common Code of the Coffee Community) and Certifica Minas certified. To achieve and maintain these certifications, we need to comply with a series of standards regarding issues such as environmental conservation and sustainable production, good social practices and working conditions, an efficient management and control system for the entire production chain and, of course, full compliance with all current legislation. They are also members of BSCA (Brazil Specialty Coffee Association), which mission is to increase recognition of Brazilian specialty coffees both inside Brazil and around the world. After the collection of coffee cherries, which in Brazil is done in a mechanical way. The cherries are washed with clean water and at the same time, a selection is made by floats where unripe cherries are separated from the ripe ones. The ripe cherries are left to macerate for 36 hours before receiving what Rafael Vinhal calls “Thermal Shock” (a secret process on the farm). They are then left to macerate for another 144 hours and receive another “Thermal Shock”. The cherries are then pulped and go through a 122-hour fermentation submerged in water. Finally, the coffee is centrifuged to remove all the water and dried on raised beds for 19 days until the desired percentage of moisture is reached.