mio - brazil - unripe cherries, maceration tank

Fi O’Brien and Casey Lalonde are the owners of Girls Who Grind, based in Wiltshire, South-West England. They are a womxn-led, anti-patriarchy specialty coffee roastery and they are part of the rebellion movement. All coffees they source come exclusively from change-making womxn producers whose work is celebrated and stories are shared. To give back to the producers in exchange for everything they give, above and beyond the beans themselves, Fi and Casey run the Cheek to Cheek initiative, where 10% of the sale price of all their retail coffees is put back into their suppliers' pockets to show intention about being one team. 

About the beans... elegant and complex, jasmine, sweet caramel, get high 

It is nearly impossible for all cherries to be picked at peak maturity, resulting in unripe cherries being sold cheaply due to the undesirable astringency in the cup. Using a fermentation method, these cherries are transformed from something undesirable to a unique specialty coffee.

The method, developed by the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo, subjects unripe cherries to an enzymatic fermentation process. When left in water, microorganisms from within the coffee act by breaking down molecules such as chlorogenic acids, which can cause high astringency in the cup. The result is a smooth, sweet and complex cup that is higher in antioxidants than ripe cherries. The project is being tested at Mio in the hopes that it can be applied to other farms in the future.

About Mio...This innovative coffee initiative by Mió, takes unripe coffee cherries, and with a little processing magic, turns them into something absolutely delicious, waste reducing and also high in antioxidants! Just wow.

Mió is a female-led company run by Cris Gerbasi, COO for Brazilian Business, Ana Luiza, COO for International Business and Renata Parisi (Ana’s Mum) Owner and general badass of Mió. This lot was cgosen by the GWGC for its potential to increase the economic sustainability of farms and for its knock-out flavour. 

Producer: Mio - Ana, Cris, Renata

Region: Minas Gerais, Sul de Minas

Country: Brazil
Variety: Yellow and Red Catucai / Mundo Novo / Yellow Bourbon
Process: Unripe Cherries, Maceration tank

Altitude: 1100 masl

Grind note: grind away. Just the way you like it.

Shelf-life: 180 days