|
A
Trip to Daterra Coffee in Minas Gerais, Brazil…
| Journey
of the Bean: |
| |
The beans’ journey to the cup starts with harvesting.
Coffee is harvested during the dry-cool period (May-September).
The warm days and cool nights with almost no rain produces
the signature coffees of Daterra.
|
Mechanical:
Daterra is located in the Cerrado region of Minas
Gerais, BR. The land is flat which makes is perfect
for mechanical harvesting. The first pick of the
year is usually mechanical. The gentle fingers of
the harvester shake the ripe fruit from the tree’s
branches. |
Mechanical
Harvester |
Mechanical
Fingers at work |
|
| |
Fresh
cherries in Super Sack |
Hand
Picking:
Post mechanical harvest the beans left on the tree
must be hand-picked. The picker also cleans the
ground around the tree to prevent disease. |
Post Harvester Hand Picking
|
 |
Picked
Bean Collection
Hand
picking is also utilized for harvesting coffee
from young and experimental trees. |
Hand
Picking of Experimental Tree |
 |
 |
|
Fresh
Cherries Delivered to Sorting & Cleaning Process
Center |
|
| Beans
are moved by truck within minutes of harvest to
cleaning & sorting center. Lots remain in tack
during the process. Each lost is numbered with farm
name, picking lot and varietal. |
|
Cherries in Receiving Tank |
|
Super
Sacks Filled with Cherries |
Quality
Sorting Using Water |
Sorting
and Pulp Removal for Pulp-Natural Coffees |
|
| After
the wet mill, the coffee is delivered to the patio,
a large, expansive concrete where the naturals and
the pulped cherries are laid out to dry, carefully
labeled by lot numbers, time, varietal and all other
penitent data. |
|
Foreground natural – Back pulped-natural |
Sun
Drying Patios |
Mechanical
Raker |
Pulped
Naturals - Manual Raking |
Natural
Coffee Drying on the PatioTracking by Farm, Varietal,
Pick Date, Lot No. |
|
 |
| The
final stage of drying is done in large, vertical
and cylindrical dryers. The furnaces are driven
by burning wood from tree pruning. The warm room
temperature air is blown into the furnace to complete
the drying process. |
Once again, carefully monitored to insure quality.
The green hand indicates the moisture content
when coffee is put in dryer the red hand is the
target moisture content. |
|
 |
 |
| After
drying the coffee is cleaned of foreign matter (destoned),
density sorted, color sorted and sorted for bean
maturing. It is only after this sort that the coffee
is blended to create the Daterra coffee menu. |
After resting in parchment in wooden silos for 30-90
days – the coffee is prepared for shipment
in bags or boxes. |
The patented Penta box storage and shipping system
was created by Daterra to ship the most perfect
beans for each year’s crop. This packaging
system has resulted in the revolutionary concept
of vintage coffees. |
.
|
| Each
container of Daterra coffee is loaded and
sealed on the farm. |
 |
|
The
coffee travels about 10-12 hours to the Port of
Santos for shipment around the world. |
|
|
