Sandbox - Natural Yellow Catuai | Brazil

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Brazil — Casa Almeida Yellow Catuai (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍫 Milk Chocolate • 🍪 Toasted Cookie

DETAILS

• Farm: Casa Almeida
• Region: Minas Gerais, Brazil
• Varietal: Yellow Catuai
• Process: Natural
• Harvest: 2025
• Size: 200g 

INTRO

A classic, comforting Brazilian natural from Casa Almeida in Minas Gerais — clean, sweet, and approachable. Natural processing draws out a pronounced milk chocolate and toasted cookie character, with low, integrated acidity and a smooth, heavy body that makes this an easy and deeply satisfying cup at any time of day.

THE PRODUCER

Casa Almeida is part of the Neighbours Project in Minas Gerais — a collaborative initiative designed to support small-scale producers with access to technical resources and quality-focused infrastructure. By working within this community-driven framework, farms like Casa Almeida are able to refine their processing techniques and access the specialty market more effectively, producing consistent, well-defined lots that speak clearly of the Brazilian highlands. Sustainable practices and a commitment to the local community underpin everything the project stands for.

Yellow Catuai is a well-established Brazilian variety, developed as a cross between Mundo Novo and Yellow Caturra. A compact, resilient dwarf plant that is manageable to harvest and reliably consistent season to season, it is particularly well suited to natural processing — its natural tendency toward heavy body and significant sweetness making it an ideal match for the dry fermentation method used here.

THE PROCESS

The Natural process at Casa Almeida involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Ripe cherries selectively harvested 🔍 Sorting — Defective and underripe cherries removed before drying ☀️ Sun drying — Whole cherries spread in thin layers to dry for two to four weeks 🔄 Regular turning — Cherries turned throughout drying to ensure evenness and prevent mould 🌾 Hulling — Dried outer layers removed to reveal the green bean

The extended sun drying is the defining step — the bean rests inside the whole cherry throughout, slowly absorbing the fruit's sugars and developing the clean, chocolate-driven sweetness and gentle body that characterise this lot.

THE CUP

A beautifully straightforward natural that delivers exactly what it promises — rich milk chocolate, warm cookie sweetness, and a smooth, creamy body. A reliable, well-executed Brazilian that works as well through a filter as it does as a mellow espresso.

Flavour Notes

🍫 Milk Chocolate 🍪 Toasted Cookie