PRODUCER

Rancho Grande Farm dates back to 1933 when Mr. Aneite Reis inherited the five hectares of land on which he began his coffee production. Almost ninety years later, the Reis family still runs the farm, Carlos with his son Flávio, called Fafa, the grandson and great-grandson of Aneite Reis.
The goal of the Rancho Grande farm is to produce coffee in biodiversity and protect the environment around it as much as possible. Therefore, in addition to coffee trees on the farm, they also raise cows for meat and milk. Fazenda (Portuguese farm) also has several social projects, one of which is accommodation for its employees on a farm in houses with subsidized electricity and food.

MANGA LARGA PROJECT
At Rancho Grande, they are always open to change. Since 2019, together with our partner Falcon specialty coffee and local partner Cocatrel Direct, they have launched an experimental coffee processing project to increase quality at the stage of cultivation, harvesting, and after-harvest work on the farm.
The first step was the construction of static drying boxes, which helped slow down fermentation and drying, thus creating taste profiles that are entirely atypical for this region. The second step was to add a layer of coffee to the boxes, which created an anaerobic environment in the pre-drying phase. Thanks to this step, the coffee from Rancho Grande is much more funky and full of fruit, like other coffees from nearby farms.
This unique project was named after the horse breed Manga Larga, which is known in the region and is also part of the history and story of Rancho Grande Farm.

PROCESSING

After harvesting the coffee, it is sorted by grain density, determining the degree of ripeness. Ripe cherries (boia) and overripe cherries (boian) are placed in static boxes. These are one-meter deep boxes with a capacity of 15 thousand liters of cherries. It’s about 25-30 bags of green coffee.
The boxes have a ventilation grille at the bottom, allowing air to circulate from the bottom up, making the coffee dry evenly. Coffee is like this for 12 days. Cold air blows into it for the first three days. For the next nine days, the air is at a temperature of 32 degrees until the humidity reaches 11%.
Subsequently, the coffee lies for another 26 days to stabilize all the processes inside the grains. Then the coffee is peeled in a dry mill. This method enabled the processing of coffees with more pronounced, fruity, and pure taste profiles.

VARIETY

Acaia is a unique variety because it is a natural and natural hybrid of the Mundo Novo variety.
Acaia produces larger grains and cherries. Therefore, its name is derived from the phrase “big fruit” from the language of the Tupi-Guarani Indians.
It is doing well at altitudes above 800 meters. The trees grow into a triangular shape, which is advantageous because they can capture sunlight more evenly. It has excellent fertility, high disease resistance, and is even adaptable for mechanical harvesting.