What makes good coffee?

Shade

Shade coffee is not only ecologically friendly, it is also better tasting. Shade-grown coffee fruits mature slowly, allowing the natural sugars in the coffee beans to fully develop, creating a rich, intense flavor.

Variety

We grow Arabica typica, one of the original coffee varieties without any genetic modifications and known for its characteristic soft, aromatic, round and chocolate taste.

Altitude

Arabica coffees grow best between 900-2,000 Meters high. Várzea da Onça sits at an altitude of 1,000 meters, creating perfect growing conditions for the Arabica coffee plant.  The higher altitude produces a smaller, denser, less porous bean with less moisture and more flavor.

Quality picking and processing

At Várzea da Onça, we have strict quality standards that filter out defective or unripe beans, and ensure a clean drying process.  We pick our coffee when the majority of the coffee cherries are red and ripe.  As a safeguard, we mechanically separate any green.cherries; coffee fruits that did not fully develop.