A Matter of Concrete - /054 Brazil Exceptional Set - Fazenda Guariroba
Description
Brazil — Gabriel Lamounier Vieira Fazenda Guariroba Yellow Catuaí /054.1 (Anaerobic Natural)
DETAILS
- Producer: Gabriel Lamounier Vieira & Elisa Paiva Lamounier
- Farm: Fazenda Guariroba
- Region: Santo Antônio do Amparo, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Varietal: Yellow Catuaí
- Process: Anaerobic Natural (76hr Barrel Fermentation + 30-Day Patio Drying)
- Altitude: 1,100 MASL
INTRO
The first half of A.M.O.C.'s Guariroba tasting set — a Yellow Catuaí that sits close to the classic foundation of Brazilian coffee, but with more depth, more structure, and more intention. Seventy-six hours of anaerobic barrel fermentation, thirty days of patio drying. A Cup of Excellence winning farm's most familiar variety, elevated by the same obsessive standard that defines everything Fazenda Guariroba produces.
THE PRODUCER
Gabriel Lamounier Vieira and his wife Elisa Paiva Lamounier balanced careers in dentistry with specialty coffee production at Fazenda Guariroba for more than two decades before their 2016 Cup of Excellence win gave them the conviction to commit to coffee entirely. The farm, located in Santo Antônio do Amparo in Minas Gerais, has since become one of Brazil's most respected and internationally recognised specialty operations — known specifically for Gabriel's mastery of fermentation science and the clean, structured, and place-connected coffees it consistently produces.
More than ten varieties are cultivated across Guariroba's distinctive terroir, each processed with an approach that is simultaneously scientific and artisanal. Fermentation, Gabriel has said, is one tool among many — not the only one. The result is a body of work that feels purposeful rather than experimental: coffees of clarity, longevity, and genuine connection to the landscape they come from.
Yellow Catuaí is one of the most widely grown varieties in Brazil — a productive, compact hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra developed in the country in the 1940s. In most hands it produces a reliable, clean, well-balanced cup. In Gabriel's hands, with 76 hours of anaerobic barrel fermentation and a full 30-day patio drying, it becomes something with considerably more depth and intention.
THE PROCESS
🍒 Hand-picking — Yellow Catuaí cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🛢️ 76-hour anaerobic barrel fermentation — Whole cherries sealed in barrels for 76 hours of precisely controlled anaerobic fermentation ☀️ 30-day patio drying — Dried slowly on open patios for 30 days until optimal moisture content is achieved
The extended patio drying is the defining step — 30 days on open patios gives the Catuaí's natural sugars time to integrate fully and evenly, building the depth and structure that set this lot clearly apart from a conventional Brazilian natural.
THE CUP
A Yellow Catuaí rooted in the familiar language of Brazilian coffee but pushed further than most — deeper, more structured, and more intentional. The first half of a small study in what Fazenda Guariroba can do with controlled fermentation, and a strong argument for taking Brazilian specialty coffee seriously.
Brazil — Gabriel Lamounier Vieira Fazenda Guariroba Pink Bourbon /054.2 (Double Fermentation)
DETAILS
- Producer: Gabriel Lamounier Vieira & Elisa Paiva Lamounier
- Farm: Fazenda Guariroba
- Region: Santo Antônio do Amparo, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Varietal: Pink Bourbon
- Process: Double Fermentation with Yeast
- Altitude: 1,100 MASL
INTRO
The second half of the Guariroba tasting set — and the more unexpected of the two. Pink Bourbon in Brazil is rare. Pink Bourbon from a Cup of Excellence winning farm with a long record of serious, structured production is rarer still. A variety typically associated with Huila, Colombia, growing in Minas Gerais. A quiet shift in what Brazilian coffee can be — not replacing the classic image, but expanding it.
THE PRODUCER
Gabriel Lamounier Vieira and Elisa Paiva Lamounier have built Fazenda Guariroba into a reference point for modern Brazilian specialty coffee — a farm that approaches fermentation with precision, discipline, and a clear sense of place. Their 2016 Cup of Excellence win marked the beginning of international recognition for a producer who had been quietly building towards it for years. The Pink Bourbon on this lot represents a deliberate expansion of the farm's varietal range — not experimentation for its own sake, but a considered choice to explore what Guariroba's terroir and fermentation methodology can produce with a variety more typically grown thousands of kilometres away.
Pink Bourbon is genetically identified as Ethiopian Landrace — belonging to the Core Ethiopia group alongside Gesha, Chiroso, Sidra, and Aji. Its characteristic florality and fruit-forward profile, developed in the cool highland conditions of Colombia, finds a different but equally compelling expression at 1,100 MASL in Minas Gerais under Guariroba's yeast-driven double fermentation.
THE PROCESS
🍒 Hand-picking — Pink Bourbon cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🧫 Yeast inoculation — Specific yeast cultures introduced to direct and guide fermentation flavour development 🔒 First fermentation — Initial controlled fermentation phase with yeast active throughout 🔒 Second fermentation — A second controlled fermentation phase to build additional depth and aromatic complexity ☀️ Drying — Dried to optimal moisture content
The yeast-driven double fermentation is the defining step — by introducing specific cultures and fermenting in two controlled phases, Gabriel builds the complexity and aromatic depth that make this Pink Bourbon such an unexpected and compelling Brazilian lot, while keeping the cup clean, structured, and connected to the farm that produced it.
THE CUP
A Pink Bourbon from Brazil — unusual in origin, serious in intention, and floral in direction. The second half of a small study in one farm's two very different interpretations of controlled fermentation, and a compelling argument for the expanding possibilities of what Brazilian specialty coffee can look like.
