Adolfo Vieira is one of our key supply partners, and his stunning Fazenda Passeio farm has conjured up this gem from their experimental plot. 100% Arañas arabica, the tiny lot has been beautifully processed to present a clean, fruity and complex cup of coffee.

Adolfo Vieira, and his Fazenda Passeio estate, are one of our key supply partners, and we’ve been sourcing coffee from him since an exploratory visit in 2015. Adolfo prepares two versions of coffee for us, known as “The Woodman”, in Pulped Natural and Natural formats, and these anchor many of our espresso blends throughout the year. Here, full sweet flavours, body and consistency is the key to what we’re looking for in the coffee, matched by unrivalled attitude to social, environmental and quality aspects on the farm.

Adolfo regularly produces outstanding micro-lots, often using year on year favourites like the Yellow Bourbon arabica varietal, and utilising the raised beds on the farm to control the sun drying and prepare the very best lots. But he has also been developing an experimental plot on the farm, to evaluate new arabica varietals and to assess their quality potential, their suitable to the terroir, soil and climate and resistance to pests and disease. With more than 40 different varietals, and 215 coffee trees, there are around 5 trees per type and some really interesting results!

This particular micro-lot, of 100% Arañas, has been beautifully processed to present a clean, fruity and complex cup of coffee. This varietal is a selected cross of Red Icatu with Catimor, and ticks a lot of boxes for productivity, suitability to the local terroir, disease resistance but also quality in the cup (usually a mention of “Catimor” brings a hint of fear in the specialty coffee world, as it’s a great plant for productivity and resistance, but not necessarily great for flavour!)

“The meaning behind the name is that Arañas is an indigenous tribe that inhabited the region of "Capelinha", in the northeast of Minas Gerais. It means “birds that come from the south” in Tupi Guarani.”

Brazil Fazenda Passeio

Nestling in the West Yorkshire Pennines, we are surrounded by dramatic moorland, dry-stone walls and ancient woods. We see reminders of the area's heritage, shaped by the Industrial Revolution; from the 18th Century canal locks to the remnants of old mills and weirs. It was this that gave birth to our river-side Victorian textile mill, where we roast our coffee on a vintage Probat drum roaster.

Dark Woods use specialty grade coffees, which have cleaner more distinctive flavours than cheaper commercial coffees and are traceable to skilled farmers and their farms across the world. Carefully roasted to produce an array of flavours to suit a wide range of styles and tastes - which may be why Dark Woods gained another 13 awards in 2020's Great Taste Awards.

Brazil Fazenda Passeio

4.0

Brazil Fazenda Passeio

4.0

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