BRAZIL GERACOES

Sweet, smooth and luxurious, Brazil Geracoes is what happens when three great Brazilian farming families are brought together by sustainability and a shared passion for melding tradition with innovation. Geracoes is Brazilian down to its roots, with both the Yellow Catuai and Topazio varietals borne out of experiments in cross pollination and propagation in 1970s Sao Paulo. The result is a modern classic, with notes of vanilla, chocolate and spice carried in a round body, with medium mandarin acidity and perfect balance.

COFFEE ORIGIN

Brazil Geracoes is a unique Bean of the Month in that it comes not from one large producer or many smallholders, but three established specialty coffee fazendas. Sitio Gourita, Fazenda Sao Paulo, and Fazenda Picada are linked by the Geracoes sustainabilty program. Geracoes means “generations” and its aim is to make coffee production ecologically, socially and economically sustainable: a career to be passed down through families. By banding together and using the Geracoes protocol, these producers hope to preserve both their land and their legacy.

Country: Brazil

Producers: Edison Ferreira Carson - Sitio Gourita, Joao Luiz Cobra - Fazenda Sao Paulo, Marcelo Madeira - Fazenda Picada

Regions: Nova Resende, Sao Jose do Rio Pardo

Varietals: Yellow Catuai, Topazio

Process: Natural

Altitude: 900 – 1120 m above sea level

TASTING NOTES & CUPPING PROFILE

Brazil Geracoes is a culmination of three great coffee farming families’ work, and all of that passion, and experience shows in the cup. This is a gorgeous, rich, and sophisticated coffee, wherein traditional sweet flavours of vanilla and dark chocolate are accented with a touch of spice. Orange blossom floral fragrance is echoed in the mandarin note of the acidity. This is not a loud or outrageous coffee, Brazil Geracoes is not presenting any flavours to shock or challenge the drinker. Instead, the overall impression is one of a luxurious dessert: classic flavours assembled with skill and used with restraint, perfectly balanced.

Aromas: hibiscus and orange blossom florals
Flavours: vanilla, dark chocolate, spice
Acidity: medium mandarin
Body: well rounded
Aftertaste: bright sweet
Cupping Score: 84

BREW GUIDE

Dark chocolate, spice and vanilla are all notes you’ll find in Merlo Coffee blends. And that’s for good reason: these are flavours that sing when extracted through an espresso machine, and pair perfectly with milk.
If you’re brewing at home, consider trying out the “magic” ratio. Magics are an Australian invention, first coming out of Melbourne coffee culture. The idea is that by serving a double ristretto with less milk, you get to enjoy a coffee which is concentrated in flavour but low on sharpness or bitterness.

Method

1. Fill your double portafilter with Brazil Geracoes ground for espresso.

2. Tamp and extract as usual, but stop the shot when you’ve extracted 25-30 grams of espresso. This should take about 20 seconds, and can be judged by noticing your shot becoming thinner and paler.

3. Fill your milk jug with 120 ml of milk and steam as you would a flat white, introducing a little air and then submerging the wand to let the whirlpool work the air through into microfoam.

4. Once the milk hits your preferred temperature, remove from the wand and pour carefully into your double ristretto shot.

5. Enjoy!

Bean of the Month

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