We visited Espírito Santo in 2019, in one of our last origin trips before the COVID19 pandemic turned the world on its head, and visited Gilcimar at his farm, Sítio Bateia. Gilcimar manages two plots of coffee on the 13ha farm, with 20,000 Catuaí trees in total. He is currently cultivating a second plot with 10,000 Obata trees, a Brazilian varietal. The farm itself spans an altitude of 850-1000 meters above sea-level, relatively low for high-quality arabica coffee production. Gilcimar’s location helps overcome the low altitude, with high humidity and cold ocean air delaying the maturation of the coffee cherries, forcing the tree to expend energy concentrating sugars and organic acids in the seed.

Gilcimar, with the help of his sister, father, and business partner, produce around 200 bags of coffee every year. Of these 200, approximately 70 bags meet the grade of speciality (and a consequently higher price) and the rest are sold at a commercial grade. Each of the bags sold at a speciality grade require hand picking by Gilcimar and his family, as Brazil’s high labour costs make hiring extra hands prohibitively expensive.

We’re always thrilled to share the work of quality-driven farmers at CCR, and ever since we visited Gilcimar, we’ve been looking forward to buying one of his harvests to share. We were particularly impressed with the latest crop’s super sweet character, which brought defined flavours of white chocolate & hazelnut butter in a sugar-driven cup. A pop of acidity that reminds us of poached pears and lemon brings an elevated complexity. An easy-going and delicious coffee, suitable to drink both black and with milk – a testament to Gilcimar’s hard work in the mountains of Espírito Santo.

BREWING GUIDE 

We’re loving Gilcimar’s coffee brewed on an immersion brewer such as a Aeropress or French Press to accentuate the sweetness and creamy body. Brewing with fresh, filtered water, we use a slightly updosed recipe of 62g per litre, adjusted for size.