Rafael Vinhal

Rafael once again delighted us with his favorite microlot, which we call “coconut”, he named it after his favorite Brazilian sweet Cocada. It’s the Catuai 144 variety, which Rafael processed as a 2x fermented fully washed coffee. After mechanical picking and sorting by floating, the coffee cherries were fermented aerobically for 30 hours “dry”, that is, in whole cherries free in the air. Then, in order not to raise the temperature too much, the coffee was cooled rapidly with cold water, a so-called thermal shock. The coffee was then stripped of the skins and a second stage of fermentation, anaerobic, i.e. without air, took place in water, lasting a total of 190 hours. Finally, the coffee was centrifuged and dried for 16 days. The flavor profile of the coffee is that of coconut milk, almond and lime, which has become a kind of Rafael’s signature lot.

This year Rafael also sold us this fantastic complex microlot, which he called “floral lemon grass”. This Topazio Arabica comes from sector 3 of the Fazenda Recanto farm. Rafael processed it as a 3x fermented fully washed lot. After mechanical picking and sorting by floating, the coffee cherries were fermented aerobically “dry” for 56 hours. That is, in whole cherries free in the air. Then, to prevent the temperature from rising too much, the coffee was cooled rapidly with cold water a so-called thermal shock. A second fermentation followed for 196 hours the cherries were fermented anaerobically and also without water. After this time, there was another thermal shock and then dehulling. The third fermentation was also anaerobic, but this time in water for 120 hours. Finally, the coffee was centrifuged and dried for 21 days.

This lot is a selection of grains from the previous micro lot Floral lemon grass. The profile is slightly different. However, great as always! And a hot tip from Chicas Industry for this year. This Topazio Arabica comes from sector 3 of the Fazenda Recanto farm. Rafael processed it as a 3x fermented fully washed lot. After mechanical picking and floating sorting, the coffee cherries were fermented aerobically “dry” for 56 hours. That is, in whole cherries free in the air. Then, to prevent the temperature from rising too much, the coffee was cooled rapidly with cold water a so-called thermal shock. A second fermentation followed for 196 hours the cherries were fermented anaerobically and also without water. After this time, there was another thermal shock and then dehulling. The third fermentation was also anaerobic, but this time in water for 120 hours. Finally, the coffee was centrifuged and dried for 21 days.

Rafael named this super fruity microlot Jabuticaba jam after the Brazilian fruit jabuticaba. The Catucaí 2SL variety is processed using the double fermentation method and is a natural. After mechanical harvesting and floating sorting, the coffee cherries were fermented aerobically “dry” for 36 hours. That is to say, in whole cherries freely in the air. Then, so that the temperature did not rise too much, the coffee was cooled rapidly with cold water a so-called thermal shock. A second fermentation followed for 122 hours the cherries were fermented anaerobically and also without water. After this time, another thermal shock, centrifugation and drying for 23 days.

Not to be outdone by Rafael, this year we also took this juicy “grape starfruit”. This is Catuaí 99 and is processed as a 3x fermented honey coffee. After mechanical harvesting and sorting by floating, the coffee cherries were fermented aerobically “dry” for 60 hours. That is to say, in whole cherries freely in the air. Then, in order to prevent the temperature from rising too much, the coffee was cooled rapidly with cold water a so-called thermal shock. The second stage of fermentation also took place in the cherries, anaerobically and again dry for 175 hours. The cherries were then peeled and fermented anaerobically for a further 120 hours. The coffee was dried for 19 days.

One of this year’s Rafael microlots is this “honey propolis”. It is a variety of Topazio, which Rafael processed as 2x fermented honey coffee. After mechanical harvesting and sorting by floating, the coffee cherries were fermented aerobically “dry” for 72 hours. That is, in whole cherries free in the air. Then, so that the temperature did not rise too much, the coffee was cooled rapidly with cold water a so-called thermal shock. Before the second fermentation, the cherries were peeled with minimal loss of mucilage. The second fermentation was carried out anaerobically for 200 hours under dry conditions.  Finally, the coffee was centrifuged and dried for 20 days.

Because you can never have enough good coffee, this year we also have quality blends from Vinhala Farm. Alfonso Vinhal, Rafael’s dad, does his job really well. This lot refers to the long tradition of coffee production on the family farm Vinhal Cafés Artesanais. The blend of Yellow and Red Catuaí, Icatu, Catucai, Topázio and IBC12 varieties is processed using the classic dry method. That is to say, the grains are spread out on concrete pads after being harvested in the husk and dried in direct sunlight. Regular turning is, of course, a matter of course. After drying, the beans are stripped of their skins and processed for export.