AGUA FRIA

Agua Fria – Brazilian Natural Bourbon

Suitable for: Espresso & Filter Brewing
Best As: Espresso (Milk), Filter (Black)

Flavour Characteristics

Macadamia, Hobnob biscuit, pear and golden raisin

Origin & Producer Details

Producer: Paulo Agualetti
Farm: Agua Fria
Region: Divinolandia, Brazil
Variety: Catucai
Process: Natural
Q-Score: 86
Sourced Via: Phil, Cargo Coffee

Recommended Rest

For the best tasting brew of this specialty coffee from Brazil, we'd suggest resting this for 20–38 days off roast — we wrote a blog on this here.

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About This Coffee

Why did we source from Paulo?

It is usually assumed that most Brazilian coffee comes from very big farms, however the reality is that about 80% of Brazilian coffee comes from small producers, like Paulo. It’s simply that they don’t have a direct route to roasters, and so their product is sold to co-ops or larger producers who sell it as their own “single estate” or blend it, even if it is a high-scoring single origin.

Paulo Agualetti owns a 4-hectare farm, which is small by Brazilian standards. Even with a very decent planting density of 3,000 plants per hectare, this equates to about 35 sacks per hectare. This year, we bought around 2000kg out of the total harvest from Paulo's farm, supporting smallholder farms.

When purchasing this coffee, we were immediately impressed by the higher clarity that buying from a single farm has been able to offer us, when compared to community lots that we have tried in the past. Phil, who owns Coffee Cargo, has become an integral part of our Brazilian coffee sourcing, connecting us with exceptional producers like Paulo. Phil has an encyclopaedic knowledge of each farm he works with, and the exceptional care and attention he devoted to the traceability package for each coffee has been a breath of fresh air.

Paulo’s father was a coffee producer, so he grew up learning and understanding the family business. When a small plot with the ideal altitude, aspect and soil for growing great coffee became available in Divinolândia, Paulo acquired it and began producing coffee on his own.

Having a farm with great terroir isn’t enough to produce high-scoring coffee on its own, though. It takes commitment, expertise, a lot of hard work and a desire to turn the opportunity that the land presents into an exceptional final product. It is a risk, but it is one that is paying off for Paulo. Paulo grows and processes his coffee himself, with a little help during the harvest from his brother. He is dedicated to his craft, and by connecting him directly to roasters he can be properly rewarded for that dedication, and his excellent final product.

What is Natural Processing?

Whole cherries are dried in beds (around 16 days; this can extend to ~20–25 days) before hulling, often producing fruit-forward flavours and more body.

Where is this coffee sourced from?

It’s sourced via Cargo Coffee.

In particular, this coffee is sourced from a region called Divinolandia which is a small region in the north-west part of the state of São Paulo, on the border with Minas Gerais. In my opinion, this is an under-appreciated region with wonderful terroir characteristics, influenced by the highly fertile soil, cooler climate and rolling mountains, with the base of Divinolandia sitting around 1000 masl, with peaks of around 1500 masl.

I found this coffee to be an excellent representation of the local terroir, with a classic macadamia-like nuttiness and creaminess, in addition to sweet oat biscuit. Gorgeous!

Preparation Guidance

Preparing this coffee depends a little bit on your equipment and your water quality.

Agua Fria works beautifully as both espresso and filter. Both espresso and filter brews yield intensely sweet cups, with a touch more acidity and clarity as a filter brew. But that incredible sweetness works brilliantly as a milk-based drink.

We have been brewing this coffee using a number of recipes (depending on your equipment), as it's incredibly versatile.

On our equipment (Lagom 01 + Victoria Arduino Prima), we found a great range of versatility, working well at the traditional 18 in 36 out, or a turbo shot. The best shot I tried was: 18g in, 40g out, 29 seconds.

It's worth noting that if you are running turbo shots, you need a coffee grinder with a burr set fitted that allows for a more unimodal style of grind size particle distribution, otherwise your coffee will likely taste very ashy at these lengths. It's also a good idea to have a really good set of scales (we wrote a guide on this here) to allow for accurate, repeatable results.

For filter, consider brewing at a 1:16 ratio. We've tried a number of different brew methods, and personally I really like this coffee through the Orea V4, as you can really bring out a little more acidity this way, but feel free to try some of our other recommended recipes here.

Agua Fria – FAQs

Is this coffee good for espresso?

Yes — this coffee is suitable for espresso and shines as a black espresso due to its sweetness and clarity.

Can I brew this as filter?

Absolutely. It performs extremely well as a black filter coffee with high clarity floral characteristics, in addition to high sweetness.

Why rest this coffee for 20–38 days?

Resting allows the roasted CO₂ to outgas, helping sweetness and clarity develop in the cup. We explain the science in our blog linked above. You can brew it sooner than 20 days, but you won't get the absolute most out of your experience.

What flavour profile should I expect?

Macadamia, Hobnob biscuit, pear and golden raisin.

Why did you buy from Paulo?

Smallholders like Paulo have a tough time getting their coffee represented. Brazil as a coffee behemoth is not really set up to do this in the same way that other countries can. It's working with people like Phil (Cargo) that allow us access to buy from smallholders like Paulo - which is an incredible treat, as the flavour clarity and expressions from single estates are vastly superior in my opinion.

Explore other exciting coffees

• Licho — a wonderfully clean washed ET-47 from Dylan Aguilera, Costa Rica.
• Kachara — Ethiopia natural 74158, similar process but stylistically different with a new variety to explore, with flavours akin to Earl Grey and pineapple.
• Browse our single-origin coffees

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