Brazil Fazenda Pantano
It’s no secret that Brazil is the world’s leading grower and exporter of coffee beans. In fact, around one third of all of the world’s coffee is grown there. With 14 different regions where coffee is produced, you can only imagine the range of coffee varieties it has to offer. However, today we’re here to shine a spotlight on one of our favourites - the Fazenda Pantano.
The Fazenda Pantano - Farm and Producer
Situated in the Cerrado region, close to the city of Patos de Minas, Fazenda Pantano AKA 'Swamp Farm' is one of the oldest in Brazil. With its rich soil, ideal climate and notably high altitude, this farm's coffee cherries are world renowned for the highly complex flavour profiles they can deliver in your daily brew! The farm itself has over two hundred coffee varieties—most of which are in experimental production. The plantation is especially unique as it is one of few farms with high altitude growing regions by Brazil standards. High altitude makes for a slower ripening of the coffee cherry and a more complex flavour profile, beans grown at lower altitudes are often of lower flavour quality.
The owner of the processing station, Wagner Ferrero, carries passion for coffee in his blood. His grandparents were Italian immigrants who arrived in Brazil in the early 1900’s to work on coffee plantations. Over the years, Wagner inherited a wealth of knowledge from his family’s coffee growing past. Today, following years of perfecting his craft, Wagner is now one of the largest speciality producers in Brazil!
Early on in his coffee farming career, Wagner discovered a key finding which changed the way he nurtured his crop. This finding undoubtedly contributed to his unrivalled success. Whilst carefully studying his fields, he realised that each part of his land required different varying levels of care and attention.
With this in mind, he split his farm into plots which are made up of hectare squares. After conducting a soil analysis on each plot, taking various factors into consideration (such as daily necessity of water, amount of rainfall, water retention and the effect of evaporation and wind) he prescribed unique, individual treatments with water and pesticides for each patch, accordingly.
But Wagner’s pioneering ways don’t stop there. Wagner and Fazenda Pântano plantation have become a world reference for sustainability. Not only are the coffees of outstanding quality but this commitment to a sustainable and ethical approach is second to none. The farm also supports a local school, funds various training schemes and courses for its staff and is certified by UTZ and the Rainforest Alliance. Pretty impressive stuff huh?
In 2018, Lisa took a trip to see the Fazenda Pantano farm and production facility to learn more about their processes, here’s what she had to say about her experience:
'Having bought coffee from Fazenda Pantano since 2013 it was important for me to the visit, to understand the processes, the infrastructure and to meet the team at the farm. The sheer scale and efficiencies of production were so impressive and vastly different from other origins and farms I had visited. I was taken to the row of trees where our super sweet Yellow Bourbon is grown and to the tables and patios where our pulped natural seeds are dried. It was extremely satisfying to make this trip and to feel comfortable with our coffee buying decisions! We have so many loyal customers who buy this coffee from us and we are impressed with the flavour quality and consistency every year! This is the origin and farm that we buy most of our coffee* from and have done so sustainably for years. After this visit we intend to do so for many years to come!'
If you like us, you have enjoyed learning more about the Fazenda Pantano. Why not give it’s beans a go for yourself.
The coffee itself has a highly complex flavour profile with berry sweetness and praline nuttiness. It is packed with flavour with notes of chocolate, caramel and peanut and is great for cafetiere, espresso, filter and in milk based espresso coffee!
Why not try the Fazenda Pantano today and let us know how you get on!
In 2021, Fazenda Pantano, Pulped Natural, Yellow Bourbon accounted for 38.4% of Dear Green's roasted coffee output. Dear Green are proud to be transparent about the source and the supply chain of all coffees listed. Coffee from Fazenda Pantano is imported for Dear Green by Falcon Specialty. Dear Green were hosted by exporters Expocacer on the trip to the farm. In 2021 the FOB price per kilo of raw green coffee was £4.93. Dear Green purchased 218 sacks of this delicious coffee which scores 83.5 SCA specialty points! You can read more about Dear Green's sourcing and ethics here.