Roasting May 23rd ONLY (8oz Bags)

White Label Brasil Sitio Toca 

Tasting Notes: fig, tropical fruits, strawberry vinaigrette

Suggested Brewing Method:  French Press, Drip, Moka Pot

The third in our series of small lot auction coffees, Sítio Toca hails from the same Mantiqueira de Minas growing region in the southern part of Minas Gerais as last month’s offering yet presents entirely different character in the cup. Like the Boa Vista, this micro-lot of Sitio Toca placed in the top 10 of the 2022 Cocarive Specialty Coffee Competition and was brought to our attention by Cocarive cooperative member and coffee grower, Sergio Diaz.

The Mantiqueira de Minas region has in recent years developed a reputation for producing rare and distinctive lots of high-quality coffees many of which, like this lot of Sitio Toca, earn a score of 90 or up. Roasting Boa Vista and Sitio Toca,back to back presents an opportunity to experience two very different takes on this level of quality, revealing just how profound a contrast in cup character changing a single variable in the production cycle of coffee can make.

Of the same variety, Catucaí, and benefiting from similar terroir, care, and local expertise, these coffees produce strikingly different experiences for the coffee drinker due to the extended fermentation of the natural processing used on the Sitio Toca, where skin and fruit of the coffee cherry are left on the seed to dry before being removed. This process allows the bean to absorb and develop more wild and diverse fruit-forward flavors as opposed to the “tamer,” more subtle character of the Boa Vista where the skin and some fruit were removed before drying.

Producing coffee at Sítio Toca is a family affair. Husband and wife team of José Eurípedes de Siqueira and Catarina Aparecida Siqueira and their three children plant, harvest, and dry coffee on their farm amidst other small crops of tomato, banana, and tobacco. Coffee cultivation being their focus and main source of income, the Siquerias take care to hand-pick only the ripest cherries and sun-dry their coffee on site. Depending on the weather, dryers are also sometimes used to ensure consistent moisture levels and degrees of fermentation.

In the cup, Sitio Toca brings an initial abundance of candied-fruit flavors, fig, and date that transform into even sweeter aromas of juicy tropical fruits, tiramisu, and strawberry vinaigrette. To our lead roaster, the combination of confection and tropical fruit flavors immediately recalled pineapple upside-down cake. These flavors are highlighted by a snappy, cider-like acidity and buoyed on a palate-coating mouthfeel reminiscent of root-beer barrel or butterscotch candy. Sitio Toca’s long finish adds notes of brown sugar and the spice of clove while retaining the complexity of all the fruit-forward aromatics found throughout the cup.

We trust you will enjoy the abundant flavors of this unique natural processed coffee. 

Variety:  Catucaí

Region:  Mantiqueira de Minas

Farm:  Sitio Toca

Elevation:  600 feet

Process:  natural