Santo Antônio pulped natural (Bahia) 2011/12

This coffee is packed in jute sacks lined with PVC Grainpro bags – an airtight storage system that preserves aroma and freshness for longer, while also allowing the coffee to breathe naturally.

Santo Antônio is a small coffee farm located in the hills around the town of Piatã, in Bahia’s mountainous Chapada Diamantina region. The farm is owned and managed by Antônio Macedo Souza, who inherited the land from his father. At that time there was a small amount of coffee planted on the land, but Antônio gave up farming it as he could not make the crop pay. The farm’s fortunes were turned round in 1998, when Antônio received assistance from the Piatã Coffee Growers Association (ASCAMP) - founded to assist growers who have land but not have the resources to invest in it.

Antônio joined the association and increased the number of coffee trees to around 6,000. With the help of his family he has gradually built up the business to the point that it is now the family’s main source of income.

Most of the work on the farm is carried out by the Souza family, with extra help hired in only during the harvest period. Harvest runs from July through to September - the coffee is selectively picked and pulping is carried out daily. The coffee is then dried on the farm’s patios, where it is raked 18 to 20 times a day. After drying, the lots are numbered and stored separately in silos for future sale.