Our latest easy drinker is from the Serra de Mantiqueira region of Brazil and is a blend of Yellow Bourbon coffees from various smallholders in the area that sell their coffees to the Cocarive cooperative. We visited Cocarive back in September this year and to say it was impressive is an understatement. The Serra de Mantiqueira stretch across São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states. Located in the Minas Gerais state, the Mantiqueria de Minas area was the first to get a geographical indication in the Brazilian coffee industry (supported and developed by BSCA). This fresh approach, akin to ‘terroir’ in the wine industry, is redefining how people view specialty coffee from Brazil with 25 counties in the region and 7,800 producers, of which 89% are smallholders. The area comprises 69,500 hectares and altitude ranges from 900 to 1,500 masl, with a predominance of yellow varieties over the more typical red. All coffees are minimum 84 SCA points as part of the denomination and many enter the late harvest Cup of Excellence in Brazil. The lower altitudes are often grazed by cattle and the steeper slopes compared to other parts of the state mean that the near ubiquitous mechanisation of the coffee industry in Brazil is much less commonly seen, and hand picking more prevalent. Though both red and yellow cherries are grown across the region, altitude often splits the choices, with yellow generally being grown at higher elevations and therefore forming a larger percentage of quality coffees form the region. Once the coffee is picked, it is processed through to dry milling on the farm, and then brought to the Cocarive warehouse just outside São Lourenço. It is then rigorously cupped under the guidance of ex Brazilian cupping Champion Wellington Pereira (aka Baba).