Granja São Francisco
Complex, and elegant. Pretty floral aroma, bright pineapple acidity balanced with an intense sugarcane sweetness and juicy mouthfeel. Notes of passionfruit, mandarin and milk chocolate.
Granja São Francisco is located in the beautiful, mountainous region of Mantiqueira de Minas. The farm is steeped in tradition, with a long standing family history in coffee production that spans over eight decades and three generations.
The farm was originally acquired in the 1930s by Otaviano’s maternal grandfather, Senhor Octaviano Pinto Lopes Ribeiro. Senhor Ribeiro, the then patriarch of the family, was a renowned and experienced entrepreneur in the coffee export business in the ‘30s and ‘40s, and operated the company Pinto Lopes e Cia. He achieved considerable fame in business for his great vision and entrepreneurial spirit, which led him to recognise (ahead of his time) the significant potential of the Carmo de Minas micro-region for quality coffee.
Two generations on, Granja São Francisco is today owned and managed by Otaviano Ribeiro Ceglia, who together with his wife, Maria José Junqueira Ceglia, and their son, Luis Eduardo Junqueira Ceglia, manage the daily operations of the estate.
Assisted by the knowledge and expertise passed down since the 1930s, Otaviano produces some of the finest quality coffees in the Mantiqueira de Minas region. After taking over the management of the farm in the 1990s, Otaviano immediately began to improve the coffee plantation and plant new varieties including Acaia, Mundo Novo, Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon and Yellow Catucaí. This particular lot that we have selected from the farm is 100% Yellow Bourbon.
In total 35 hectares are dedicated to coffee on the estate, whilst a significant portion of remainder of the estate is dedicated to native forest reserves and the local flora and fauna typical of the Serra da Mantiqueira region, in order to maintain a balanced ecosystem and provide a habitat for local birds and animals. There are 12 full-time staff members who work at Granja São Francisco. They live on the farm with their relatives, and are given access to health insurance and education.
Coffee at Granja São Francisco is grown at at 1,100 – 1,300 metres above sea level. The beans are harvested by hand, between July and September, mainly by women (called “panhadeiras de café”) who are trained to pick only the very ripest cherries, and prepared using the pulped natural process. After picking, the cherry’s skin and fruit are removed, and the sticky, parchment-covered beans are left to dry on cement patios in layers of about 4cm and carefully raked regularly throughout the day to ensure they dry evenly and consistently. The drying is then finished off in a rotating dryer where the coffee is dried very slowly and carefully.
Combined with the natural conditions of the region, meticulous crop management, forward-thinking crop planning and post-harvest selection, the final result from Senhor Ceglia’s farm is an excellent quality, award-winning coffee that is appreciated both within Brazil and internationally as some of the best coffee the country has to offer.
Granja São Francisco’s most recent accolades include winning fifth, sixth, and eighth place in the Quality Coffees of Brazil Contest, and twelfth place in the Cup of Excellence Natural Late Harvest competition.
In 2012, it won fifth place in the Cup of Excellence Early Harvest.
ABOUT MANTIQUEIRA DE MINAS
Mantiqueira de Minas is located on the Minas Gerais State side of Serra da Mantiqueira, in the southern part of Minas Gerais. This region has the perfect conditions to produce exceptional coffee, with high altitudes, rich soil, ample and well distributed rainfall, mild temperatures year-round, and defined seasons. It is recognised as one of the best coffee producing regions in Brazil with coffees regularly placing in the top 10 in the annual Cup of Excellence competitions.
In 2011, Mantiqueira de Minas was recognised as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) due to its tradition and worldwide reputation for producing high quality coffee. Coffees from this region are distinctive and differentiated, reflecting the combination of a unique terroir and the local knowhow and expertise in coffee production that continuously delivers excellence.
