The beauty of Mantiqueira de Minas lies in a terrain of rolling, tree-capped mountains studded with brightly coloured houses and grazing cattle. In this region, coffee is grown on steep hillsides and is picked by hand – quite different to the flat, mechanically harvested fields of the majority of Brazil’s production. The quality and uniqueness of Mantiqueira’s coffee is well known – in fact, the farmers here were the first to receive an official ‘geographical indication’ from the Brazilian government, similar to the way wine and cheese have been recognised throughout Europe.

Of the hundreds of well-loved and well-tended farms in the region, Sitio da Torre is a stand out. Álvaro Pereira Coli, the current owner, is a fourth generation coffee farmer who has spent the majority of his life looking after the farm founded by his great-grandfather, who emigrated from Italy to Brazil in the 19th century. Sitio da Torre, under his father Antonio and now Álvaro, his son, has placed in the Brazilian Cup of Excellence an eye-watering 29 times. The farm processes coffees in both the pulped natural and fully natural styles, both traditional methods for Brazil. In recent years Álvaro and his team have also begun experimenting with varietal separations and new processing styles, for which they are now renowned.

Following a purchase in 2019 of an additional 30 hectares (which was formerly part of the farm until the early 80s and was bought back), Sitio da Torre comprised 95 hectares of land, with only 49 of it currently producing coffee. Much of the remaining land is heavily forested, being left in its natural state as a haven for birds, animals and native plant species. Álvaro has taken a great interest in eco-friendly coffee production in recent years, with test areas for different organic methods across the farm. In order to determine which varietals adapt best to these non-conventional methods, he has several lots of different varietals which are tried under each system to suss out which offers best performace in yield, quality, and disease resistance. While the farm is not fully organic yet, it is his goal to start producing a percentage of his coffee each season through organic farming.

  Caravan Coffee Roasters are proud members of 1% for the Planet. For more information please visit https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org

HOME BREWING GUIDE 

The Sitio da Torre is a full bodied, mellow coffee with lots of chewy sweetness. We find that these types of coffees taste great on an immersion brewer, such as a French Press or an Aeropress. To start with, try a ratio of 60g of freshly ground coffee per litre of filtered water and adjust to taste. For more brewing tips and tricks, visit our Brew Guides.