For the last 50 years, the Cerrado Mineiro region has been making a name for itself and standing out more and more in Brazil and around the world when it comes to coffee. The territory is the first Brazilian region to receive the Denomination of Origin for specialty coffees.
The region is demarcated by 55 municipalities in the Triângulo Mineiro, Alto Paranaíba and Northwest of Minas. Among them, Patrocínio, Monte Carmelo, Araguari, Patos de Minas, Campos Altos, Unaí, Serra do Salitre, São Gotardo, Araxá and Carmo do Paranaíba stand out. Much of the economy of these cities revolves around coffee growing.
The well-defined climatic seasons and the attitude of the coffee growers who formed the region, turned the territory into a reference in the production of high-quality coffees, conquering national and international appreciators and buyers.
There are several varieties that are produced, such as Bourbon, Topazio, Icatu, Paraiso, Caturra, among others. But the region stands out when it comes to the production of the Mundo Novo and Catuai varieties.
Pioneer in quality
The Cerrado Mineiro Region is the first region doubly certified with the titles of Indication of Origin and Denomination of Origin.
While the first certificate, issued by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) in 2005, gives national visibility to the region’s producers and adds value to the product, the last one gives worldwide recognition to the quality of the coffee that is produced there. With the Denomination of Origin, the territory is marked for producing products with unique characteristics and a particular know-how, which cannot be found anywhere else.
The guideline is the same as for the famous French terroirs of wines and sparkling wines (for example: Bordeaux and Champagne). The certification attests to the origin of the products, giving the coffee from the Cerrado Mineiro Region high visibility and market value. The achievement was also evaluated by the INPI in 2013.
Organized and professional coffee growing
Coffee growing in the Cerrado Mineiro Region began in the 1970s and was marked by the arrival of coffee growers from Paraná and São Paulo who were looking for a new frontier to continue their activity after a heavy frost that happened on Brazilian South Region. Thus, coffee growers not only found a new frontier, but also built a new coffee plantation.
Through the challenges faced, including soil correction, coffee growers understood the need to unite themselves to overcome the local adversity regarding coffee producing. Thus, the first coffee growers’ associations were founded in the 1980s and cooperatives in the following decade.
The Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation, the body that brings together the cooperatives and associations in the Cerrado Mineiro Region, also emerged in this context, as well as Fundaccer, a foundation for research and development of coffee growing in the region that certifies the quality and origin of the coffees produced there – it is this foundation that controls the certification and sustainability programs. In order to do this, the coffees from the region are submitted to sensorial evaluation in the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) standards and to a certification of coffee producing property in the region, which gives the coffee the Certificate of Origin and Quality. This certificate is linked to a traceability system and to factors such as climate, soil, respect for the environment, and good agricultural practices.
Among so many highlights, the careful management of the producers also plays a very important role, as well as the professionalization of coffee growing in the region. The Arabica coffee produced in this territory usually undergoes natural processing, although some growers opt for the pulped cherry process and others, in smaller numbers, opt for pulped processing. Such processes interfere directly in the final product, highlighting even more the characteristics of the beans.
In 2021, coffee growers in the Cerrado Mineiro Region stood out in the main quality competitions in the country and the world, showing that the organization of the region in favor of quality and innovative, professional and sustainable coffee production generates good results, that have conquered the demanding palates of coffee lovers around the world.
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