Alessandro - filter coffee from Brazil

Alessandro's coffees delight us every year. The co-founder of the APAS cooperative knows exactly what he is doing. This year we got the first harvest from his newest farm, Sitio Grotão. Like previous years, it is a natural with a hazelnut base, perfumed with ripe, berry notes and rounded off with a delicate acidity.

Alessandro - Coffee Info

Roasted for: filter coffee, cold brew

Origin: Brazil, São Gonçalo do Sapucaí, Sitio Grotão

Producer: Alessandro Hervaz, member of the APAS cooperative

Varieties: Bourbon Amarelho, 100% Arabica

Post-harvest process: Natural, drying in the coffee cherry

Arrived at the roastery: May 2022

All of our coffees are sold as whole beans.

Tell me more about Alessandro's work

Sitio Grotão is Alessandro's newest farm and is one of the highest in Brazil. Up to 1520m above sea level. The coffee grows in a very cool climate and forms more acid due to the slow ripening. We feel this as a delicate, fresh acidity that integrates well into the overall impression. The natural process creates the mild, slightly fruity (red berries, plum) notes, while the classic hazelnut base tone runs through from hot to cold. Alessandro says that he is a “student of coffee” himself - he is focused on precise processing steps and we feel that in this coffee. Everything is where it belongs. The balance between nuttiness, fruity notes and acidity is a highlight in our portfolio every year.

Why does the coffee taste good? the way it tastes?

Alessandro uses the same post-harvest process for all his farms. This provides an interesting comparability between the individual microlots. After harvesting, Alessandro washes all the intact cherries, leaving unripe and overripe ones floating to the top. He can eliminate these and only pile up and ferment the homogeneously ripe cherries in a pyramid shape in a covered solar tent. In this pile of cherries the temperature rises and intensifies the fermentation. After 5 to 7 days, he spreads the cherries into hand-width layers and dries them down. The fermentation brings the fruity notes to the coffee, the slow maturation due to the altitude brings the delicate acidity, and the variety the familiar nuttiness.

Why did we buy this coffee?

Because we are fans of Alessandro and his work. Because we enjoy presenting different coffee flavors from the same region. And because it makes sense to buy more coffee from the same place. Alessandro is part of the APAS cooperative, was the first to grow organically at APAS and produces coffees every year that are extremely stable and long-lasting.

How do we roast these coffees?

We roast the coffee as a 12.5kg batch in the 30kg Giesen roaster. With a roasting time of 10 minutes, the coffee is one of our longer filter roasts. The development time of 40 seconds is relatively short - after the first crack, we quickly increase the bean temperature and interrupt the roasting in the middle of the first crack at a slightly higher final temperature. This gives the aromatic complexity, while the short development time gives the coffee its freshness.

Brewing suggestion for the Alessandro

3 cold brew recipes - cold coffee, really tasty.