Introducing Our APAS Premium Reserve Blend
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” –Andrew Carnegie
High above the Brazilian clouds sits a very special micro-region called the Mantiqueira Ranges, where a group of thirty-five producers work co-operatively to form the Alto da Serra Producers’ Association, also known as APAS. The picturesque region, with tall mountains rising boldly from the north-western bank of the Rio Paraíba do Sul River was recently granted a Geographic Indication title, due to its unique characteristics and excellent climate for coffee production.
Though they have an ideal location for producing quality specialty coffees, APAS’s real secret to success is that they collaborate, exploring and creating new ideas to produce the highest quality coffee in the most ethical, sustainable way. They really focus on a coffee’s traceability as well as each farm’s agricultural practices. APAS ensures that no agrochemicals are used.
Minas Hill was first introduced to APAS in 2013 during the International Coffee Expo in Belo Horizonte and we knew right away that we wanted to align with APAS and contribute to their future plans. Marcelo had the honour of cupping coffees from five producers and quickly made the first purchase for Minas Hill in 2013, which was their first international export and a big milestone!
Through the export relationship with Minas Hill, APAS began to experience an exceptional amount of growth, significantly changing the lives of the farmers. The relationship has continued to grow over the past five years. Now in 2018, Minas Hill and APAS have created a new and exciting objective. We asked four producers from the region of Sitio to get to together and create our very own Minas Hill APAS Premium Reserve coffee!
This coffee has been a big success. It is comprised of a combination of 34.5% Sitio Fortaleza (Alessandro Hervaz), 11% of Sitio Bela Vista (Jarbas Cleto), 37% of Sitio Sao Jose (Jose Marciano) and 17.5% of Sitio Nossa Senhora (Nivaldo Donizette). It is a combination of the Yellow and Red Catuai varietal and each bean is carefully picked using selective harvesting to ensure that the fruit is perfectly ripe. The coffee undergoes the natural process of being dried in raised beds, resulting in an extremely clean and sweet cup of coffee! It is well-balanced, with notes of mulberry, lemon meringue and soft caramel! With the success of this coffee now, we are excited to announce to our Australian roasteries that yet another extraordinary coffee is in the process of being developed through APAS! So, stay tuned!
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.” In this case, the vision has become a reality with our Minas Hill APAS Premium Reserve coffee! And we believe that with teamwork we will see the farmers of APAS continue to thrive, as they use the very best practices from bean to cup!
