Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias was responsible for the property management, until 2016, when Bourbon took the administration of the farm.

The company is currently in charge of everything and using it as Bourbon’s processing center and also field of research and development regarding variety, picking, processing, drying with 100% focus on quality and how it can be improved, with the goal to become a reference on it.

It is located 3 miles from Minas Gerais state line and has characteristics from the mountainous areas of Mogiana and from Sul de Minas. On this farm everything is done manually, which includes coffee plantation handling and harvest, since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanization. 

Social and environmental sustainability is considered very important in the farm management. They have developed a program of planting native species to keep a better ecological balance. The farm has a school, a club and an official size soccer field for the employees benefit. There are 47 houses for the employees and their families, all with modern facilities. The wastewater is treated to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm. The altitude is between 1,100 and 1,250 meters and the precipitation is between 1,800 and 2,000mm per year with an average temperature of 19ºC. Ideal conditions for coffee. The farm still produces the Bourbon coffee variety, famous for their exceptional quality.

Coffee is picked manually with a cloth on the ground avoiding the bean to have direct contact with the land. Coffee processing is done quickly to avoid any kind of fermentation, it is transferred directly from the field to the wet mill where the green and mature beans are separated from the dry ones. Following, the dry beans go to the patio to be dried and the mature are pulped and separated from the green. 

 The pulped coffee is dried on suspended beds and covered patios until the bean reaches 20% of moisture. The next step is to use the mechanical driers to reduce the moisture to 11%. After the lots are deposited in a warehouse with controlled level of moisture and free from odors which could damage the coffee.

Coffee produced at Cachoeira da Grama Farm is a result of dedication and care during all the phases of coffee production since the selection of seedlings, plantation until harvest and processing. After harvest the beans receive the maximum of attention possible not to lose any of its characteristics and quality in the drink which the region is known. Lindolpho de Carvalho Dias is one of the finalists at Brazil’s Cup of Excellence in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Since the end of 2016, Bourbon took the administration of Cachoeira da Grama farm, being now in charge of everything and transforming it as Bourbon’s processing center and also field of research and development regarding variety, picking, processing, drying with 100% focus on quality and how it can be improved, with the goal to become a reference on it.

What we have already done in 2017: 

– Higher percentage of selective picking

– Planted new varieties

– Built two covered patios and two raised beds

– Launched a trial for coffee fermentation in partnership with Prof. Dr. Flávio Borém and Prof. Dr. Rosane Schwan – in this link you can see a video about it

– Hired a food engineer who is charge of protocols and responsible for tests from field to cup

Regarding these investments we intend to have scientific database and knowledge about all the chemical and physical process that happens with coffee, in order to have everything proven and able to replicate and share with our partner producers.