This year’s second launch from Brazil comes from perhaps the most POWERHOUSE of our longstanding producing partners from this country: Marcelo Assis. Now, don’t go mincing our words — we’re not picking favorites here. Nonetheless, Marcelo’s path to his present-day esteem combined with the vast scope of his production puts him in some rarefied air, and his are some of the most thrilling lots to cup, season after season. This year, we picked one of Marcelo’s single-variety natural process offers, though both of these factoids come with a delightful (and, eventually, delicious) twist. 

“Arara” is a variety (AKA the particular species of Arabica coffee plant) that’s been gaining traction in Brazil over the past few years. It’s technically been around for decades but didn’t rise toward its current fame until after Fundação Procafé — a coffee research institution — “launched” it in 2012. Originally stemming from an unintentional hybrid on a large plantation, it was refined over the years to effectively be a cross between Yellow Catuai and Obatã, yielding big, richly yellow fruits that ripen slowly, resist common diseases, and taste awesome. These factors make it super appealing to farmers, and in this respect, like many others, Marcelo is among the vanguard.

With his longtime business partner Flávio Márcio Silva, Marcelo operates Bioma Café: 230 hectares of farmland, with 150 planted between 1,150 and 1,200 meters above sea level, prime for specialty. A portion of these trees is Arara, now mature enough to be producing some of Bioma’s most distinguished lots. For this one, ripe cherries are placed in sealed tanks for two days before moving to a greenhouse with multiple raised beds at different heights. Every five days, the drying cherries ascend to a higher bed, altogether enjoying a slow n’ steady twenty-five days in the greenhouse before taking a 30-day nap in wooden silos before being milled. Put all this together and what have ya’ got? A purply, piney, brambly, broody screamer of a coffee that Biz Director Jim (who is herein referring to himself in the third person — weird!) says actually might be his PERSONAL favorite Brazil of the season, despite our collective conclusion that no such selection is possible or remotely necessary. 

All jest aside, Marcelo may be one of our higher-volume producing partners, but his scale comes without sacrificing ethics or excellence. Since 2019, the 140-hectare specialty segment of Bioma Café, called Fazenda Olhos d’Água, has been part of the Cerrado Mineiro Designation of Origin program. To earn this fully-traceable seal of quality and provenance, all coffees must uphold sustainable farming practices and equitable business management in addition to the pre-requisite of exquisite quality. In other words, when going big, there’s nobody we’d rather go with than Marcelo.

Up up and away.