Anésio Contini - Fazenda Vargem Grande

Brazil Specialty Coffee Association

Winning farm of the Brazil Cup of Excellence
Competition and Auction - 2001 edition

Anésio Contini
Fazenda Vargem Grande

Characteristics of the coffee lot:

Processing System: Pulped Natural
The winning lot was produced in the farm,
however not from a specific part of it.
Variety: Mundo Novo and Catuaí
Lot size: 149 bags
Average score: 82.89

Characteristics of the farm:

Property: Fazenda Vargem Grande
E-mail: izacon@uol.com.br
Location: The farm is located in the southern region of the State of Minas Gerais, and is close to the southeastern region of the State of São Paulo, at the skirts of the Mantiqueira Mountains.
Total area: 122 hectares
Coffee growing area (according to varieties):
65 hectares of coffee (58 ha in production)
Catuaí - 16 hectares
Mundo Novo - 42 hectares
An additional 7 ha will be in production from 2003 onwards.

Aerial view of the farm

The Fazenda Vargem Grande is located in a privileged area, at the base of the Mantiqueira Mountain Range, in a slightly undulated plateau with higher slopes. The altitude of the plantation area varies from 1100 to 1200 meters, with average temperatures during harvesting of about 14/15^oC and during the agricultural year around 20^oC. Another factor that contributes to the good quality of the coffees is rainfall distribution during the year, which from 1996 to 2000 was between 1200 and 1600 mm.

During the harvest period (winter), is very low, almost zero, characterizing a cold/dry climate, which inhibits the activities of fungi and bacteria. The soil in the farm is predominantly podzolic with argillaceous gravel (Pc).

The property possesses almost 11 hectares of native and untouched Atlantic Rain Forest, in which animals, plants and water sources are obstinately preserved.

Preservation of native woods

Contini family

Historically, the farm has always been a traditional producer of fine coffees. During the forties and the fifties, plantations played a second role in the farm, due to the successive crises then occurring in Brazilian coffee plantations. At the end of the fifties, the Contini acquired part of the area, and planted potatoes. With the success obtained with the potato plantations, the property was expanded. The number of children who were born and live in the farm increased, and they live for the land.

From 1973 onwards, with the incentives to renew Brazilian coffee industry, the Contini family resumed their coffee plantations, tradition they brought from their ancestors. Currently, the property's total area (122 hectares) is divided into 65 hectares of coffee - 16 ha of Catuaí, 42 ha of Mundo Novo and 7 that will be in production from 2003 onwards - 11 hectares of native woods, 43 hectares of pastures, housing area, and processing unit and 3 hectares of reforesting area.

Aerial view of the farm

Since production began, concern with quality has always been the family's goal, however, due to circumstances, at that time the family only produced natural coffees by washing and separating the dried beans from the cherry beans, which were subsequently dried in terraces coated with asphalt.

From 1978 onwards, looking for more technology and innovation, the Contini family began investing in new equipment to process their coffees. With their vision of the future, they began to worry about cost reduction and electricity expenses, acquiring rotary mechanic dryers and its dry processing and building another terrace for the pre-drying phase.

Warehousing and dry processing building

Rotary dryers

Dry processing equipment

Because of the plantations made between 1996 to 2000, a new restructuring was required at the farm. Once again, the Contini family showed their entrepreneurial ability, and began searching for a new concept to prepare their coffees, the pulped natural method, which resulted in the implementation of the wet processing system unit in 2000. The result was the best possible, and following the guidance of the equipment manufacturers, the Contini's arrived at an outstanding quality in 2001, which was evidenced by the Cup of Excellence Award.

Wet processing combined unit

Terrace and wet
processing combined unit

Terrace with pulped natural coffee

Water fall

Since the Contini's have always lived of the farm, they know how important it is to preserve the environment. Therefore, the investments in new technology were made taking into consideration environmental and water sources preservation.
This evidences their will of transferring to the new generations that live at the farm a very conserved environment.

When Mr. Anésio Contini and his wife arrived at Fazenda Vargem Grande, their dream was to have a large family. As the years passed, the family increased. In this farm, all of their children grew and are coffee producers. Today, not only the couple, but also three married children also live in the farm. The second son graduated in Agronomy, and dedicates his time solely and exclusively to the Contini's coffee plantation, together with his father, brothers and nephews, providing additional technical support to the family.

Having as a parameter the life at the farm, it is easy to understand why the Continis are always concerned with their employees who live at the farm. The employees of the property have well-built houses and space for a vegetable garden, a grove and small areas to raise chicken and pigs for their own consumption.

Coffee processing system:
The selected lot was prepared according to normal procedures used in the farm, with special care, harvesting techniques and processing, always taking into consideration the quality of the coffee. All the coffee was hand picked on special pieces of cloth, thus avoiding contact with the soil and mixing the beans with those already on the soil which could contaminate and spoil the main lot.
Immediately after, the coffee is sent to the processing unit. Coffee picked up in the morning arrives at the processing unit shortly after noon, and coffee picked in the afternoon, up to 5 p.m., is processed as soon as it arrives at the mill hopper. The process used is based on the pulped natural method, which consists of washing, reception, separation from the green beans, pulping and direct mucilage removal.

After processing, the pulped natural coffee, green beans and the dry beans are immediately forwarded to the terraces, or as soon as the excess water has been drained, to the rotary dryers - which expose them to heat in a more uniform manner, not causing mechanical damage to the pergamino.

Quality concerns:
Since the Contini family has a long business relationship with the manufacturers of their pieces of equipment, Pinhalense, it was from the company that they obtained the technical guidance required to handle the coffee, in order to obtain the best possible quality. The family's concern and main objective was to obtain the best quality coffees using leading edge technology. This year, as an evidence of the excellent results reached by the Contini family, State University of São Paulo (UNESP) chose their farm as a center of technological research for their Master's and Ph.D.'s degrees in coffee quality.