Sítio Pico do Boné, Catigua MG 2 - Natural - Brazil

About this coffee

Name: Sítio Pico do Boné Region: Araponga, Matas de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brazil Producers: Cristiene, Kátia, Doña Aparecida, & family Process: Natural Variety: Catigua MG 2 Altitude: 1,250 MASL Tasting Notes: fig, dried blueberry, cosmic apple, honey glazed hazelnut, brownie mix. Use a 1:14 ratio with 196˚F water More: This coffee is where our relationship with the Aparecida Martins family began. In the fall of 2023, Little Waves co-owner and green coffee buyer Areli Barrera Grodski traveled with BD Imports to Matas de Minas to visit producers participating in the Black Brazilian Producers Program. There, we met Cristiene, her sister Kátia, their mother Dona Aparecida, and their sister-in-law Edlaine at their family farm, Sítio Pico do Boné. The farm immediately made an impression on us. This beautiful 15-hectare property is lush, abundant, and truly feels like an oasis. We were welcomed with fruit grown right on their land—passion fruit, bananas, enormous avocados, loquats, and citrus—and spent the day learning about the family, their farm, and their vision for the future. Coffee runs four generations deep in the Aparecida family. Cristiene’s parents, Abraão da Silva and Dona Aparecida Martins, were the first generation to move from sharecropping to land ownership. As Cristiene told us, it took many years of sacrifice, but her family was determined. Abraão would load his ox cart and make the two-hour round trip to the family’s farm, carrying roughly 100 coffee plants at a time. Dona Aparecida remembers that he sometimes made as many as five trips in one day. Together, the family planted 12,000 coffee trees this way. Today, the farm has around 40,000 trees. You can feel that history throughout Sítio Pico do Boné—the passion, love, sweat, blood, and tears that have gone into building this farm. The coffee plants thrive from it. Abraão passed away in 2016, but his legacy continues through his daughters, Kátia and Cristiene, who have chosen to pursue specialty coffee and work toward exporting their coffees for higher premiums. This coffee is a result of their skill, knowledge, and hard work, while also representing the next chapter of the family’s story. Cristiene brings a particularly important dimension to that work. She graduated from the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC) and uses her agricultural knowledge not only to improve the quality of the family’s coffee, but to support neighboring producers as well. Through sharing her knowledge and expertise, she has helped other producers improve their coffee quality and receive better prices for their work. That spirit of knowledge-sharing was one of the things that stayed with Areli after our visit: “I was deeply moved by everyone who welcomed us with open arms at Sítio Pico do Boné. There was an energy on their land that was magical, serene, intentional, and abundant. The family is extremely skilled at what they do, and I know they do it not just for themselves but for the legacy of their father. Cristiene left an impact on me and truly shows that when you empower women, women empower their community.” Since that first visit, our relationship with the Aparecida family has continued to grow. This season, we’re especially excited to be carrying another coffee from Sítio Pico do Boné—this time from Junior, Cristiene’s brother. While Junior’s coffee is a different variety and process, both coffees come from the same family, the same farm, and the same commitment to quality and care. It feels meaningful to be able to share more than one expression of what this family is building. This coffee is a Catiguá MG2, a variety developed through EPAMIG’s genetic improvement program in Minas Gerais and selected for its resistance to coffee leaf rust and potential for high cup quality. For this lot, the cherries are washed and sorted by density before being sealed in a 200-liter drum for a nine-day fermentation. They are then dried on a cement patio, turned regularly, and covered with canvas once partially dry to encourage a slow, uniform drying process. The result is a juicy, vibrant cup with fig and dried blueberry balanced by a rich honeyed and brownie sweetness. For us, this coffee embodies Quality, Relationship, and Impact. It represents exceptional coffee, a relationship that began with a visit and has continued to grow, and a family using their knowledge and experience to create greater value and opportunity for themselves and their community. *IF you would like this coffee ground, please specify brew method in comments. Bags are 12oz/340g, 2#, 5#

Coffee details reported by Little Waves Coffee Roasters.