Product

THE COFFEE

Horizonte goes Brazilian! For a while now, Christoph – the founder of Horizonte Coffee – has been under some pressure from his Brazilian wife Andrea to offer beans from her home country, which happens to be the biggest coffee producer in the world.

We wanted to find very sweet, low acidity beans in extraordinary quality and with a taste profile that is very “casual” – in other words, a taste that any coffee lover might enjoy at any given time.

With our Casual beans we not only found what we were looking for in  Andrea’s home state of Minas Gerais, we also discovered coffee beans that are super-creamy, nutty and with delicious milk chocolate and molasses undertones. No crazy flavors – just a straightforward, very pleasurable, easy-drinking experience.

This coffee is naturally processed. After harvesting, only the fully ripe red cherries are selected, guaranteeing their quality. The cherries are carefully placed on raised patios and rotated daily to dry naturally over a period of 14 to 15 days. After this initial drying stage, they are transferred to a dry warehouse where they rest for 45 days, allowing their flavors to develop further. Finally, the berries are milled and meticulously sorted to prepare them for export.

THE PRODUCER

Inácio Urban, the founder of Rio Brilhante is of German origin. In 1980 decided to become a coffee farmer in the Cerrado region. To start with, he planted 20 hectares "to learn what it's like". Over the last 40 years, he acquired more new land to grow coffee. By now, also Inácio's children Erika and Fernando joined their father in running the farm.

Fazenda Rio Brilhante is located in a micro-region called Pântano, in the state of Minas Gerais. Pântano is known for its very favorable climate for coffee production. The flat terrain allows for a different form of cultivation compared to coffee trees growing on mountainsides. Trees can grow up to 3 meters high which is unusual. The cost of labor in Brazil is much higher than in other producing countries and also the flat topography of the Cerrado explains the use of mechanical harvesting in some plantations.

Grevillea and Mahogany trees are planted into the fields as natural dividers between different coffee fields and to preserve the farm's biodiversity.

Fazenda Rio Brilhante has been awarded by the Rainforest Alliance and got certified by the Regenerative Agriculture certificate.

You might wonder why we buy coffee from such a big farm. First of all Brazilian farms are generally very big in comparison to our other super small micro lot farmers for example in Colombia. Next to the coffee quality and flavor profile, the Fazenda Rio Brilhante convinced us due they certificates (Rainforest, UTZ, among others) and their engagement in social projects like schools and libraries.