Sítio Canaã
Creamed honey, dried apple and pear, with sweet almond on the finish. Great clarity and length.
This microlot was grown at Sítio Canaã (which translates to “The Promised Land” in Portuguese). The farm lies just outside the small town of Piatã, in Bahia’s Chapada Diamantina region, which ranges across 1,280 to 1,340 meters above sea level. Chapada Diamantina translates to ”Diamond Plateau” in Portuguese, and for 100 years this area was mined for the gemstones embedded in its cliffs. Today, the region is famous for its specialty coffee.
Sítio Canaã is owned and managed by Kleumon Silva Moreira. Kleumon is young – he’s still in his 30s – but has been working in coffee for well over a decade, alongside his mentor, Antônio Rigno (of São Judas Tadeau). Antônio is widely regarded as the best producer in the region and is famous for his commitment to quality, having achieved many accolades for his coffees in the Cup of Excellence competition and other quality awards over the years. He has provided advice and guidance for many producers in the region, and Kleumon began his career by working by his side for many years learning everything from how to plant and care for the trees through to processing.
In 2016, using all of his savings along with a small loan from the bank (for which Antônio was his guarantor), Kleumon put together enough to establish his own coffee farm. He purchased a 10-hectare plot of land and began planting it with a wide range of varieties – Topázio, Catuaí, Obata, Acauã, Paraiso, Arara and Bourbon. This lot is a blend of Arara, Acauã, Paraiso and Topazio.
Kleumon is a conscientious producer and very meticulous in the way that he approaches every aspect of his plantation. Each of the trees at Sítio Canaã is carefully planted 60cm apart and in rows that are 3.3m apart, mirroring the precision and best practices from Antônio Rigno’s farms. To optimise and supplement his income whilst the coffee plantation is fully established, Kleumon has also planted sugarcane, passionfruit, and strawberries, but as his coffee production grows, he is slowly moving away from these crops.
Along with his farm, Kleumon has also established a successful and healthy nursery, which he uses to continue to expand the number of trees planted in his property, as well as to sell to other producers in the region. Over the years, this has become an important source of income for Kleumon and his family, by the sale of seedlings and young coffee trees to other producers in Piatã.
Kleumon also manages day-to-day operations at Silvio Leite’s estate, Cerca de Pedras, and is now Silvio’s right-hand person in town. In this role, Kleumon attends to the farming and processing at Cerca de Pedras, and also visits other producers who work with Silvio in the region, providing them advice and helping in their transition to focusing solely on specialty coffee production. Kleumon’s love for Piatã and connection to its terrain is evident when spending time with him — he loves to brew coffee outdoors and even spends his days off hiking the hills that surround Sitio Canaã.
Kleumon represents the next generation of coffee producers in Piatã and continues to impress with his considered and progressive approach to coffee production. We have purchased his complete harvest every year since 2018, when he first began producing coffee — and we hope to continue to do so for many years to come.
ABOUT PIATÃ
Piatã is a unique and distinct coffee-growing region. The coffees produced here tend to be very floral, sweet and complex, and quite different from those that we source elsewhere in Brazil. There are two main factors behind this: coffee grows at elevations of up to 1,400 meters above sea level, which is very high for Brazil; additionally, temperatures in Piatã range from about 2°C to 18°C in winter, some of the lowest in the country. Combined, the high elevation and cool climate are key in slowing down the maturation of the coffee cherries, leading to an increased concentration of sugars in the bean. The result is a cup profile that is bright, transparent, and distinctive. Piatã’s relative closeness to the Equator line ensures coffee trees can experience such drastic conditions without being affected by frost, unlike other, more traditional coffee-growing regions in the country.
Piatã’s terroir is unique in Brazil, and contributes greatly to its strong regional distinction. The soil is nutrient-rich and slightly humid, creating a healthy and diverse ecosystem that is home to some 1,600 individual plant species. While the highlands of the Chapada Diamantina are rugged and dry, the area surrounding Piatã is filled with streams, waterfalls and even swamps, providing water for irrigation and agricultural techniques.
The town was first internationally recognised for its high quality in 2009, when five of the top 10 spots in Brazil’s Cup of Excellence came from Piatã. The region’s dominance in the competition has continued every year since, particularly in 2016 when an astounding 19 of the 24 winning lots came from Piatã! These coffees are extremely limited as production here is relatively low, given the small scale of the farms in this part of Brazil. MCM has been sourcing coffee from this region since 2012, thanks to the support of longtime partner and coffee mentor Silvio Leite. Head here to learn more about beautiful Piatã, and here for more on Silvio and the incredible work he’s done in Brazil.
The region of Piatã is the traditional home of the Cariri and Maracá indigenous people, who were defeated during the Portuguese invasion of Brazil in the seventeenth century. While most of the remaining Cariri people were displaced to other regions within the state of Bahia, eventually becoming members of other indigenous communities, the Maracás have a nearby municipality located on their historical capital city named in their honour. The word “piatã” translates to “hard foot or fortress” in the indigenous Tupi language (which was spoken by most First Nations People along Brazil’s coast).
HOW THIS COFFEE WAS PROCESSED
Kleumon ensured cherries were picked by hand only when fully ripe. His picking team mainly consisted of his family members, including his mother who lives close by. Once picked, cherries were carefully pulped by hand.
This coffee was processed using the pulped natural process. After pulping the coffee at Silvio Leite’s brand wet mill, the beans were taken to dry at Sao Judas Tadeau, where they were sun-dried in greenhouses with their mucilage still attached—spread in layers of about four centimetres and raked several times a day. Once coffee reached its optimal moisture content, the beans were separated into numbered lots, which were stored and rested in parchment in a purpose-built warehouse at Fazenda Progresso, to be prepared for export.
