Santa Marta Arara

Micro-Lot Brazil Natural Arara

Forget everything you think you know about traditional Brazilian coffees. Santa Marta Arara completely shatters the old-school mold of heavy, low-acid, nut-and-chocolate profiles.

From the moment the hot water hits the bed, the air fills with an intoxicating aroma of sweet anise and warm baking spices. In the cup, this micro-lot explodes with the vibrant, tart sweetness of ripe Bing cherries and yellow plums, seamlessly integrated with a rich crème brûlée caramelized sugar backbone. As it cools, complex layers of apricot, creamy coconut, and a delicate touch of chamomile tea reveal themselves, leaving you with a velvety, full-bodied mouthfeel and a lingering, structured finish. It drinks with the sparkling clarity of a high-altitude Central American lot, backed by the deep, resonant sweetness only a masterfully executed natural process can deliver.

The Story: Reclaiming the Roots

This exceptional 300kg micro-lot is proof that sometimes dreaming big means scaling back.

Producer Marta Ribeiro Rodrigues is a fourth-generation farmer who spent years managing massive, industrial agribusiness estates. Driven by a desire to rediscover her roots and focus on ultra-high-quality, sustainable micro-farming, she retired from commercial production to establish Sítio Santa Marta—a steep, 45-hectare estate nestled in the rugged mountains of Pedralva, Minas Gerais.

Defying the stereotype of massive Brazilian fazendas, Marta’s farm is a masterclass in intentionality. Her coffee trees are intercropped with olive and banana trees to protect the soil, and the estate hosts an active apiary to promote natural pollination. Furthermore, her caretakers are treated as true stakeholders, receiving 50% of the farm’s income alongside their salaries. This coffee isn't just a product of exceptional terroir; it is a product of exceptional ethics.

The Variety: The Power of Arara

The secret behind this coffee’s stunning acidity and unique flavor profile lies in the Arara variety. Registered in 2012, Arara is a rare, yellow-fruiting cultivar. It is a natural cross between Obatã (a rust-resistant hybrid carrying Bourbon ancestry) and Catuaí. Yellow-fruiting varieties are famous for out-cupping standard red cultivars in the Minas Gerais region, yielding unparalleled sweetness and a strikingly clean, fruit-forward cup.

Extraction & Brew Recommendations

For Filter Enthusiasts: > We highly recommend extraction on a flat-bottom geometry brewer (like a Kalita Wave or Ceado Hoop). Push the grind slightly finer than your standard setting. This restriction slows the water flow just enough to maximize the Arara's immense crème brûlée sweetness, unlocking notes of spiced peaches, orange cream, and a perfectly integrated, perfumed finish.

For Espresso Geeks: This coffee shines brilliantly on a high-end setup. If you are running flat burrs engineered for high flavor separation, look for a moderate 1:2 yield in about 28–30 seconds to experience a velvety, low-acid shot dripping with nougat, sesame, and lemon meringue. To emphasize the fruit, drop the dose slightly, tighten the grind, and stretch the yield to a 1:2.2 ratio to pull forward brilliant notes of marmalade, blackcurrant, and rich frangipane.