History of the farmFazenda Barinas is run by the Castro Alves family, a traditional family in the city of Araxá. The family’s history in the region begins in 1820 when Mrs. Thereza Tomásia and her History of the farmFazenda Barinas is run by the Castro Alves family, a traditional family in the city of Araxá. The family’s history in the region begins in 1820 when Mrs. Thereza Tomásia and her family arrived attracted by the waters of Araxá that promised health and youth in abundance. The arrived with a letter of allotment and began working the lands in the region.The Castro Alves family started working with coffee in 1950 with Mr. Alberto Castro Alves (in memoriam), one of the coffee pioneers in the region. Coffee was the main activity until 1975 when a strong frost devastated a large part of Brazil’s coffee and interrupted the sector for a period. However, it was not enough for the family to give up on their objectives with coffee. Their passion for coffee helped Fazenda Barinas recover and nowadays it is in its 7th generation. Fazenda Barinas presents its most ambitious project to the world, making the farm a model in the region for quality, management and vision.Coffee processing systemSeeking to present unique characteristics, a blend of two varieties and processed was developed: 50% natural Yellow Bourbon, dry fermentation in tanks for 48 hours, 100% patio dried for 19 days, 40 days of rest in rest boxes.50% dried-on-tree Yellow Topázio, dry fermentation in tanks for 60 hours, dried on African beds for 30 days, 30 days of rest in rest boxes.The result is a balance between intense sweetness and pleasant citric acidity of the Bourbon with the notes of berries and elegant body of the Topázio, the outcome being an intense, pleasurable drink, each cup a unique experience.Concern about qualityWhen passing through the gates of Fazenda Barinas, one immediately notes the concern for producing specialty coffees in harmony with nature. Several ecological corridors have been planted. All of the buildings were built with repurposed materials, that is, what would be rubble has been reused to give a specialty touch to the farm. The farm has a project in partnership with the rehab center in which it supplies materials and helps with costs and receives seedlings of native trees. The project has helped plant more than 18 thousand trees around the several springs on the farm. They view each worker as an integral part of the final result of the coffees produced and thus seek to make every day on the farm more pleasant. The farm provides comfortable accommodations, a balanced diet with the best Minas Gerais menu. All of the workers have a health and dental plan supplied by the farm. They receive training in partnership with Sennar consisting of educational workshops and awareness on the most diverse topics. It supplies coffee to the psychiatric wing of the Casa do Caminho hospital, where the producer was born, and a reference in the region.
