Epoch 6 - Low Caf Reserve Daterra Brazil
Tasting Notes remind us of: shortbread cookies, dates, marshmallow, almond, strawberry. Creamy mouthfeel and a short finish.
Daterra is one of the most sophisticated coffee operations we've ever had the pleasure of visiting. Daterra is located near the city of Patrocinio, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This is the classic and famed Cerrado region of Brazil, where the fertile land is flat and ideal for coffee growing.
Daterra's beautiful coffee-producing systems have turned the farm into an intensive network of lots, which are all monitored individually. Many have automated irrigation systems to ensure ideal nutrients and water make it to the plants themselves.
When it comes time to harvest, Daterra will send members of the team to different lots to evaluate the cherry. They will also harvest small batches to strategize on when to harvest each individual varietal and ensure peak timing. The quality team will then make decisions on how to utilize each of these coffees and where on the menu they will be used.
The Daterra menu is vast, with three tiers of offerings available, of which Forward Coffee is proud to be the exclusive Canadian distributor. The three tiers are Masterpieces, Collections, and Classics.
Masterpieces are exotic, experimental, and one-of-a-kind. Packed solely in patented Penta boxes (24.2kg vacuum-sealed).
Collections are high-end consistent coffees the quality team deems 86 - 89 points, packed solely in patented Penta boxes (24.2kg vacuum-sealed).
Classics are coffees that best depict the Cerrado region with quality scores between 80 - 86. These are consistent, value offerings available in 60kg bags.
Each menu tier has a wide array of coffee sub-brands represented within. Each of these sub-brands holds a flavour profile the quality team works tirelessly each year to consistently match and replicate, using combinations of coffee processes and varietals on the farm that work to that build. Think about it like a blend on a roaster's menu, putting components together to make something that's greater than the sum of its parts.
Daterra is a famed farm that was first purchased in 1976 and, today is an icon in the coffee-producing world. Leading by example, Daterra is the only B Corp certified coffee farm, has more certifications than we have space to list, and is steadily working toward being a climate-positive coffee farm.
Low Caf Reserve is a lot made exclusively from low-caffeine varietals, Aramosa and Laurina. These two cultivars have been under study in Daterra for over 20 years and have now fully adapted to their land, creating not only naturally low-caf coffees, but also delicious ones. This coffee is pulped mechanically.
Collections: Low Caf Reserve
Process: Pulped
Total kilos purchased: 24kg
Harvest date: July 2021
Fermentation: This lot is not intentionally fermented
Drying time: ~6 days on the patio, followed by 30 hours in a drum drier
Drying temperature: 22°C Max. - 8°C Min.
Altitude: 1150 masl
Region: Cerrado, Brazil