Fazenda Aranquã

Luca Allegro is the owner of Fazenda Aranquã (pronounced “aah-run-kuan’). The farm has been managed according to certified, organic and biodynamics guidelines, since the years 2000 and it has been Demeter certified since then. The main objective is the balance between all the earth’s elements during production, seeking the highest self-sustained process possible. We feed the soil, not the plant itself, as Luca Allegro says.

The farm lays in the high mountains of Chapada Diamantina, the state of Bahia, in the Northeast of Brazil. The Altitude of 1100 meters above sea level, together with the position on Latitude 13 degrees south, make it one of the best terroirs to grow quality Arabicas in Brazil. The Latitude 13, further north when compared to other popular coffee origins of Brazil, such as Minas Gerais, ensures an abundant amount of solar light (longer hours of daylight, with tropical intensity), while the altitude prevents extreme heat and confers mild and pleasantly cool nights.

The coffee area has 18 acres, of mostly Catuaí varietal. The total area of the farm is 150 acres, of which, 50 are preserved areas with tropical forest. The farm lays at the buffer zone of a National Conservation Park with more than 170,000 acres of protected area – Chapada Diamantina National Park.

The coffee trees are all shade grown in an agroforest system, which is meant to create an environment of biodiversity and the perfect microclimate for a slow and gradual ripening process, which helps to bring complexity to the cup.

The hand-selective picking is performed by a group of local people, most of whom have been harvesting on the farm for more than 15 years now. Only the ripped cherries are collected, and the unripe ones are left behind to be collected in the next passage, usually a couple of weeks later when they become ripe. The harvest happens from the month of May to early September, with several passages (which, depending on the year, may count to 6 or 7 times).

The cherries picked are processed to pulped natural twice a day: the coffee harvested from 6 am to noon is processed early afternoon, and then the coffee collected from 12 to 6 pm is processed early evening.

All lots of harvested coffee for that day are kept in separate lots, and they are only blended together after cupping. Each day may present a different profile, due to the area being harvest, the weather during those days, and so on.

After being pulped, the coffee is immediately taken to the drying patios, which are covered by a roof of transparent plastic shield that allows the sunlight thru, but protects from night dew and eventual rainfalls.

Once the coffee beans are intentionally taken to patios with a fair amount of mucilage, intensive work of carefully revolving the coffee during the drying process is required to avoid any unwanted fermentation. The coffee is revolved approx. 6 times a day in the first 5 days, 3 times a day, in the remaining 10 to 12 days until drying to 11.5% humidity is achieved. That is, the drying process takes from 15 to 17 days normally. During rainy periods, up to one extra week may be needed to achieve the 11.5% level.

The coffee is kept in parchment until the eminence of shipment. The warehouse has wood bins to protect the coffee from humidity gains and losses.

Luca Allegro use to say that his work as a producer is to cultivate, harvest, and deliver the coffee as close as possible to what nature means it to be. Least influence as possible on the development of plants and cherries, and careful handling to avoid unwanted fermentation or biological effects after harvest.