Fazenda Barreiro - Brazil 2019 Verified listing

History of the farm

The history of Fazenda Barreiro begins with Captain Joaquim Bernardes da Costa Junqueira, who received from Dom João VI, King of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, by Sesmaria Civil Sentence signed on 11 December 1820, lands vacated by the Crown. On this extensive area of land, today part of the municipality of Poços de Caldas, he settled his large family.

Colonel Agostinho José da Costa Junqueira, the seventh son of Captain Joaquim and founder of Poços de Caldas, planted the first fields on his fertile lands at the end of the 19th century, believing the climate and elevation to be favorable to coffee growing.

Fazenda Barreiro currently belongs to Icatú Agropecuária Ltda, a family company run by Colonel Agostinho’s great-grandson, Francisco Otávio Lotufo, who has his son, Manuel Otávio Lotufo, as his successor.

For the quality of its Bourbon, Catuaí, Catucaí, Mundo Novo, Acaiá, Obatã and Icatú coffees, grown from 980 to 1300 m.a.s.l., Fazenda Barreiro has won awards as several coffee quality competitions, both in the city of Poços de Caldas and the state of Minas Gerais, as well as at the national, with Illy for “espresso,” and international levels, with Cup of Excellence (7th in 2004 and 18th in 2006).

Forty percent of Fazenda Barreiro’s area is preserved with forests, springs and waterways where native flora and fauna are protected. For its dedication to sustainability programs, respect for the environment and the collaboration of its workers, the farm has Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified and Certifica Minas certifications.

Coffee processing system

First a plot of Yellow Bourbon with uniform maturation over 1000 m.a.s.l. was chosen. The coffee was picked by hand over clothes by trained professionals. At the end of the day, the cherries were washed to separate floaters and remove leaves and twigs. Next the unripe green cherries were separated, and the ripe ones were pulped. The pulped coffee was collected with its mucilage and spread on a paved patio in thin layers to dry under the sun for two days. At the end of the second day, the lot was gathered and taken to African beds in a large tent with air circulation provided by fans. It remained there for a period of 10 days being raked several times per day. When the coffee reached the desired humidity, it was placed under the sun for four more days, being raked several times per day and gathered into small volcanoes in the afternoon. Upon reaching 11% humidity, it was bagged in parchment for about a month until samples were taken for sensory tests to evaluate its quality for the competition. Finally, it was mechanically processed and sent to the warehouse. At the warehouse, the coffee was prepared in 16 up screens, passed through electronic screeners and was bagged in GrainPro.

Concern about quality

Over 12 years ago, concerned about activities related to coffee production, the family decided to invest in actions to make the farm sustainable.

It adopted a model of procedures resulting in obtaining not only certifications, but also in being recognized by several institutions for its actions and degree of sustainability.

The impact resulting from these actions has brought countless advantages in cultivation practices as well as improvements to quality and traceability of the coffees and, above all, in good relationships between management and workers, contributing to business success and preservation of the environment.

Certifications

Rainforest Alliance Certified, n° IBD-G-008765, valid until 09/07/2021

UTZ Certified, n° ME01_7613, valid until 24/05/2020