It’s MARCH! March rules and so does this superrrr interesting coffee. Introducing, Fazenda Nakamura and doing so in our new fully printed, 100% recyclable, BAG designed by Enjoy’s great friend, Gus Rosen-Bernstein!

Fazenda Nakamura is located in José Gonçalves, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and is managed by Cláudio Fujio Nakamura, a 68-year-old, first-generation coffee grower. The farm consists of 250 hectares of land (617 acres!!!), with 60 hectares dedicated to growing coffee. The farm sits at an elevation of 1,050 m.a.s.l, and with around 80,000 coffee trees in production of the Red and Yellow Catuaí, Arara (soooo gooooood) and IPR 100 Now, I gotta just take a second to riff on the ‘newer’ Arara variety. This is one of the more in demand varieties in Brazil right now for a few reasons: cute yellow cherries with large beans, compact trees, high productivity, adaptability and hardiness, disease resistant, and has incredible cup attributes... pretttty rad.

Cláudio started his career in coffee while working as a technical consultant in the state of Paraná back in the 1980s. He saw his future in coffee and when the opportunity to acquire some land was presented to him, he jumped right in. His first farm was located in the Jequitinhonha Valley, but shortly after decided to move to Minas Gerais, where he has lived and grown coffee ever since. Fast forward 38 years, and Fazenda Nakamura continues to approach coffee growing with an Agronimist’s keen eye, so you can expect top-notch bean quality and meticulous processing every time.  Looking forward, Fazenda Nakamura plan to invest in increasing production and quality at the farm level, a plan that Cláudio’s children are willing to carry on. 

This lot starts its processing by picking and floating the cherries and leaving them to dry ferment in sealed tanks (anaerobic) for up to 10 days. The cherries are then placed to dry in open patios for 15 to 20 days, depending on the weather.

I’ll tell ya, this lot did not jump out at me as an anaerobic natural, it is structured, clean, reserved and has just a bangin’ sweetness from hot to cold. In the cup you find notes of ripe guava and mixed berries that blend into a juicy tartaric acidity that is present but not sharp. Milk chocolates, apple soda and tamarind. Caramels and a touch of malt round off this gem. This is a coffee I’d brew literally all the ways, all of ‘em.

Snag a bag and dig into the incredible work of Fazenda Nakamura.