Laurina Masterpiece - Daterra, Brazil

This is an incredibly rare and special coffee from our heroes at Daterra, one of the world's most pioneering, sustainable and experimental coffee farms.

When we visited Daterra in 2019 we were taken around areas of the farm that were designated as experimental growth areas for varieties not commonly planted in this area of Brazil. Sometimes the experiments are unsuccessful with low yields or unimpressive flavour profiles, but occasionally the results are stunning. On top of this Daterra have a smaller, stand-alone processing unit dedicated to experimenting with different processing methods. The very best products of these experiments are sold at auction each year as Daterra's Masterpieces.

It is our great privilege to have secured one of these lots this year. 'Dora' (named after a character in the Brazilian children's novel Capitães de Areia) is of the rare laurina variety processed by way of natural anaerobic fermentation.

Laurina is coveted both for it's beautiful, delicate flavour profile and for that fact that it is naturally low in caffeine (between 0.4-0.75% as opposed to 1.2-1.6% in most arabica coffee). Caffeine is a natural insecticide, so the low amounts in the laurina variety make it a particularly difficult and low yielding plant to grow. Daterra first planted laurina in 1994, and had such belief in its potential that they kept trying for 25 years until they finally figured out how to make it thrive.

For this coffee the ripest cherries from the laurina trees are processed by way of fully natural anaerobic fermentation inside a steel tank equipped with an airlock valve. This system allows oxygen to get out of the tank but stops anything from getting inside. As the cherries ferment, they release CO2 and, because CO2 is denser than oxygen, it pushes the lighter gas out through the valve. After a few hours, the tank environment becomes completely anaerobic and allows certain microorganisms the perfect conditions for fermentation and enzymatic reactions to happen inside of the beans.

The result is a stunning, incredibly sweet cup of coffee with notes of dark chocolate, dulce de leche and papaya.