Marco A. Guardabaxo

Fazenda Pinheiro is located in the rolling hills of Mococa, in northern São Paulo. Maria Silva and Marco A. Guardabaxo acquired the farm from Ruben Pinheiro in 2003 and planted a total of 9.5 hectares of coffee in 2007. Small lots of coffee had been grown at Pinheiro for many years, however Maria and Marco greatly developed the output.

Since November 2003, Marco has been using his knowledge of agronomy to consistently renovate and expand the property. Alongside modern farm infrastructure, Pinheiro is also home to our Exporting Partner, Ocafi's Lab, office and small roastery. Acording to Ocafi "Fazenda Pinheiro is our hub in the region and the true heart of Ocafi’s operations worldwide."

A total of 10 different varieties are currently grown on Pinheiro and these lots are either processed natural or with experimental fermentation. Drip-irrigation has been installed throughout the fazenda to ensure the consistent development and quality of the cherries and all trees up to the age of 6 years (or those larger than 1.5 meters) are harvested manually, with the older trees being harvested mechanically in a two-step process. 

Since 2021, Ocafi has planted 2 hectares of exotic varietals and is diversifying into a Agroforesta, with trees such as avocados being planted on the farm. Aside from Marco and Maria, their son Luis, the farm managers Pele and Pedro, and Ana and Fante on quality control, there are 11 resident families on Pinheiro. This workforce is strengthened with an additional 35 seasonal employees who assist during harvest time. It’s a close-knit team based on family and dedication to creating fantastic produce.

The Yellow Catucaí variety is an interesting one. It's a cross between an Icatu and the Catuaí and is known for its high yields–a real work-horse coffee. We find that varieties that ripen to a yellow color tend to have an  acidity reminiscent of stone fruit or melon. Given the right brewing context, you should taste some of that here.

Full transparency we purchased this coffee thinking it would be a great pick for our cold brew program at Black Fox but it performed so well on the cupping table that we had to print some labels and get it out to the people.

In the cup we taste soft cocoa, some hazelnut and a fantastically rich mouthfeel.