About this Coffee
Mogiana is one of the oldest coffee-growing regions in Brazil. The region is named after the Companhia Mogiana, which owned the railways that traversed the mountainous coffee regions. The train line was knownas “The Coffee Train” for its role in facilitating early coffee production and exportation. Mogiana is a valley region that runs along São Paulo’s border with Minas. The region has a long history of growing coffee, which dates back to the 1800s. Today,more than 1 million bags of coffee are grown in theMogiana Valley annually.
Harvest & post-harvest
Most Brazilian coffee is grown on huge farms, built and equipped for mechanical harvesting and processing, maximizing productivity. The relatively flat landscape across many of Brazil’s coffee regions combined with high minimum wages has led most farms to opt for this type of mechanical harvesting over selective hand-picking. Their machines are mechanized rake that using vibration to harvest ripe cherry. After harvest, cherry is typically laid to dry in thin layers on patios. Under direct sunlight, cherry is carefully monitored and turned frequently.
Coffee in Brazil
Today, the most prolific coffee growing regions of Brazil are Espirito Santo, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Bahia. Most Brazilian coffee is grown on large farms that are built and equipped for maximizing production output through mechanical harvesting and processing. The relatively flat landscape across many of Brazil’s coffee regions combined with high minimum wages has led most farms to opt for this type of mechanical harvesting over selective hand-picking.
In the past, mechanization meant that strip-picking was the norm; however, today’s mechanical harvesters are increasingly sensitive, meaning that farms can harvest only fully ripe cherries at each pass, which is good news for specialty-oriented producers.
In many cases and on less level sections of farms, a mixed form of ‘manual mechanized’ harvesting maybe used, where ripe coffee is picked using a derriçadeira – a sort of mechanized rake that uses vibration to harvest ripe cherry. A tarp is spanned between coffee trees to capture the cherry as it falls.
With the aid of these newer, more selective technologies, there’s a growing number of farms who are increasingly concerned with – and able to deliver -cup quality.
