Why Does This Coffee Association Matter for Alto Cafezal?

Alto Cafezal is a Brazilian specialty coffee brand from the Cerrado region, run by the Grossi family across more than three generations. Only estates at 1,000 meters or higher that belong to the family's top farms may use the name, which means highland coffee plantation. The Grossi family is a founding member of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association.

The article profiles the naturally processed Yellow Icatu variety from Fazenda Luciana, with full cupping notes, and compares pulped natural and traditional natural methods for acidity, aroma, and sweetness. The family also runs an estate focused on variety and cultivation research, and has invested in ecological planning, water resource protection, and community facilities.

The Cerrado region of Brazil occupies an important place in the global specialty coffee landscape, and Alto Cafezal, as a highly representative brand in this area, was founded and is operated by the Grossi family, which has been deeply involved in coffee for more than three generations. This article approaches the subject from the perspectives of brand background, family heritage, and processing method characteristics, focusing on introducing the naturally processed Yellow Icatu variety from its Fazenda Luciana, along with complete cupping notes. At the same time, it analyzes the differences between the pulped natural method and the traditional natural method in terms of acidity, aroma, and sweetness, helping coffee enthusiasts gain a more comprehensive understanding of the unique charm of Brazilian specialty coffee.

[Alto Cafezal Brand Introduction]

The name Alto Cafezal means highland coffee plantation and belongs to the Grossi family. Only estates in the Cerrado region with an altitude of 1,000 meters and belonging to the family's most elite farms are qualified to use the Alto Cafezal brand mark.

In the Cerrado region, Alto Cafezal enjoys very high recognition. Whether in Brazil's nationwide specialty coffee competition Cup of Excellence or in local Cerrado competitions, Alto Cafezal can frequently be seen. The Grossi family itself is also one of the founding members of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association and has pivotal influence and a solid reputation in the Brazilian coffee industry. The image below shows this family's exclusive Alto Cafezal brand logo as well as the emblem of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association. Before discussing this Fazenda Luciana, let us do some homework to understand the dedication behind this family and this exclusive brand...

The Grossi family owns 1,600 hectares of land dedicated to ecological planning, protection of water resources and rivers, and natural forest, allowing animals and birds in the surrounding environment to inhabit the area undisturbed.

Under Grossi there is even an estate called Fazenda Enxó, dedicated to breeding research to see which varieties and cultivation methods can perform well in the Cerrado region and meet consumer preferences.

The Grossi family is a pioneer of private coffee enterprises in the Cerrado region. By building modern public infrastructure, good social and medical facilities, and producing high-quality specialty coffee, this Alto Cafezal not only represents premium Cerrado specialty coffee in the coffee world, but is also a perfect symbol of child social welfare. If employees under its banner have young children at home, they can send them to a dedicated nursery for childcare and education, with medical facilities attached.

For the estates under Alto Cafezal, the coffee harvesting processing methods include traditional natural and pulped natural (that is, pulped and then sun-dried). The pulped natural method is the pulped natural method developed in Brazil. In practice, after removing the coffee pulp, the remaining mucilage is not scrubbed away, washed, or fermented in a water tank; instead, it is directly dried in the sun, which differs from semi-washed or fully washed.

For the same coffee fruit, the pulped natural method has brighter acidity than the natural method, but it is much softer than fully washed. In terms of aroma, the pulped natural method is more delicate and lifted than full natural, while the nutty and malty notes are weaker than in the natural method, but the sweetness is good and there are more complex and diverse aromas.

The pulped natural method avoids some of the shortcomings of improperly handled full natural processing, such as mustiness, earthy flavors, or strange odors from improper storage (after all, full natural requires a fairly long drying time, and avoiding temperature differences between day and night, moisture, and rain can all cause problems).

Alto Cafezal's natural method is also very rigorous. The harvested coffee cherries are first given an initial treatment to remove foreign matter, and after screening out unripe or overripe coffee fruits, large-scale sun drying is carried out on a dedicated drying patio. If sudden weather occurs, such as rain, there are dedicated dryers for drying to avoid absorbing moisture and affecting green bean quality. The dried parchment beans are placed in dedicated storage silos, and before export they are hulled and graded, and in the dry processing stage they are graded and screened again——

This Fazenda Luciana adopts Alto Cafezal's natural specifications. Its altitude is on the high side among estates under Alto Cafezal, reaching 1,000 meters. The image below shows Luciana's packaging jute bag; because of random inspection during customs clearance, there is tape attached to the bag. The other image is of its green beans. This is also the first time OSHE has brought in the yellow Icatu. Friends interested in Brazilian specialty coffee might as well give it a try——

The relevant cupping information is as follows:

Basic information:

Country: Brazil

Region: Cerrado region, this estate at 1,000 meters altitude

Marking: BSCA Alto Cafezal (Brazil Specialty Coffee Association Alto Cafezal brand)

Estate: Fazenda Luciana

Variety: Yellow Icatu

Processing method: Natural

Dry aroma: floral, nutty sweetness, ginseng aroma, lasting sweet fragrance, lasting oily sweet fragrance

Wet aroma: citric acidity, oily sweetness, sugarcane aroma, floral

Slurp: delicate citrus-lemon acidity that brings out sweetness, nutty sweetness, obvious oily body, lasting sweetness, finish with ripe fruit sweetness that is also lasting

[The following is an introduction to the family to which Fazenda Luciana belongs]

The Grossi family has been in coffee for three generations. The current head is José Carlos Grossi, and he is the third generation of Italian descent. In 1879 his great-grandfather came from Italy to Brazil to plant coffee, and José Carlos's father was one of the pioneers who opened coffee plantations in northern Paraná state in Brazil, which in the 1950s was the estate with the largest harvest in Brazil. Inheriting the pioneering spirit of his grandfather and father, José Carlos went to the Cerrado and began planting coffee in Patrocínio in this region in 1972. Today, Patrocínio has become the coffee trade and related-industry supply center of this region, and the volume of coffee beans it supplies even exceeds the total output of some entire Central American countries!

The Cerrado produces some of Brazil's finest coffee, and the Grossi family produces premium Cerrado coffee, establishing this family's position in Brazil's specialty coffee world! Excellent varieties, the cultivation concept of sustainable and healthy agriculture, modern processing procedures, and direct investment across the entire coffee industry from the cultivation end to the export customer end—this all-around commitment is an important factor in establishing the Grossi family's position in Brazilian specialty coffee!

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.