Where does the Mundo Novo coffee variety come from?
Mundo Novo is a natural cross between Red Bourbon and Sumatra, a branch of Typica, first found in 1943 in Sao Paulo state, Brazil. The name is Portuguese for New World. It is planted widely on large Brazilian estates and accounts for roughly 35 percent of the country's coffee. The plant is tall, high-yielding and adaptable, with red fruit and a rather good flavor.
Brazil's Pedra Grande operation, Itagucu farm in Minas Gerais, sits at 1,350 meters and grows only Mundo Novo. Owner Alana Morri sources it through the Friends and Neighbours project run by FAL Cafe, which links small farms with specialty buyers. In arabica meaning terms, Mundo Novo is one of many Arabica varieties, and its main weakness is susceptibility to leaf rust and coffee berry disease.
This article will take you through an in-depth look at the widely cultivated Mundo Novo coffee variety in Brazil, analyzing everything from its origins and plant characteristics to its flavor profile. At the same time, we focus on Itagucu, a farm in the Minas Gerais region owned by German proprietor Alana Morri, situated at 1,350 meters and planted exclusively with the single Mundo Novo variety. This naturally processed bean, recommended by Front Street Coffee, comes from the "Friends & Neighbours" project initiated by FAL Café, aimed at connecting small farms with more specialty buyers, echoing the principles of sustainability, traceability, and transparency.
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The name Mundo Novo comes from Portuguese, meaning "New World." In Brazil, it is planted on a large scale, especially common on large coffee estates, with about 35% of Brazil's coffee coming from Mundo Novo.
Mundo Novo is the product of a natural cross between Red Bourbon and Sumatra (a branch of Typica), two Arabica varieties. It was first discovered in 1943 in Urupês, São Paulo state, Brazil, an agricultural town more than 400 kilometers north of São Paulo. Another account holds that the original discovery site was Mineiros do Tiete, also in São Paulo, while Urupês was where the seeds of the original discovery were planted and the true Mundo Novo branch was selected. In 1952, the variety was distributed to farmers for planting, and the name was chosen by scientists at the Instituto Agronomico of Campinas (IAC). In 1977, IAC released a new generation of Mundo Novo.
The Mundo Novo plant is tall, high-yielding, and highly adaptable, with a well-developed root system. New leaves come in two colors, green and bronze, and the fruit is red, with a rather good flavor. Its weakness lies in its susceptibility to various diseases, such as leaf rust and coffee berry disease. The later, more widespread Catuai variety is precisely the offspring of a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra.
This Front Street Mundo Novo coffee comes from Itagucu farm in Brazil. The word Itagucu means "big stone" in the language of Brazil's Tupi Guarani indigenous people, and coincidentally, a huge stone indeed stands at the top of the farm's hill. The proprietor, Alana Morri, comes from Germany; he and his family bought the farm years ago, and until a few years back there was even a winery on the estate, though now only cattle raising and coffee cultivation remain.
The farm sits at 1,350 meters and grows only the single variety Mundo Novo, one of Brazil's most common coffee varieties. This coffee originates from the "Friends & Neighbours" program in Minas Gerais, initiated by FAL Café. The smallholders' coffee is sent to FAL Café's dry processing plant for hulling, then sold to specialty coffee roasters like Ozone.
FAL Café is a large Brazilian processing plant and export company that owns two farms. The "Friends & Neighbours" project enables small farms like Itagucu to reach more buyers, and also echoes Ozone's goals: "sustainability, traceability and transparency."
Front Street Brazil Minas Gerais Itagucu Farm Mundo Novo Natural
Brazil Minas Gerais Itagucu Mundo Novo natural
Producing country: Brazil
Region: Minas Gerais
Farm: Itagucu
Producer: Alana Morri
Altitude: 1,350 meters
Processing method: Natural
Variety: Mundo Novo
Harvest time: July-October 2016
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
