Behind the Scenes

Some coffees are memorable because they taste exotic. Others are memorable because they take something familiar and reveal just how extraordinary it can become.

Sítio do Balaio belongs firmly to the second category.

Produced by Paulo Alexandre Fernandes and his wife Débora on a remarkably small farm in Minas Gerais, this lot is a beautiful expression of Red Catuai and traditional Brazilian natural processing. The cup opens with ripe fig, raisin, and dark fruit before developing layers of salted caramel, baking spice, and deep chocolate sweetness.

What makes this coffee particularly interesting is its simplicity.

There is no elaborate experimental fermentation or highly engineered processing protocol behind it. Instead, the coffee demonstrates what can happen when a producer pays extraordinary attention to a classic method. Royal Coffee describes it as a minimal-intervention natural and a refined example of what Brazilian natural coffee can become when craft takes priority over volume.

This is also a coffee with a family story. The Fernandes family’s journey from livestock and sugarcane farming to specialty coffee spans several generations, eventually leading to the creation of Sítio do Balaio — a tiny 10-hectare property with only about 4 hectares planted in coffee.

Coffee Identity

Royal Coffee’s official sensory profile additionally identifies caramel, fig, raisin, apricot, and baking spice, while its detailed tasting analysis found blueberry, blackberry, salted caramel, dark chocolate, peppercorn, and baking spice.

The Story Behind Red Catuai

Red Catuai is one of the most important cultivars in modern Brazilian coffee production.

Catuai was developed in Brazil as a cross between Caturra and Mundo Novo, combining the relatively compact growth of Caturra with the productivity and adaptation of Mundo Novo.

The name itself is associated with the cultivar’s development in Brazil, and Catuai eventually became one of the country’s most widely planted coffee varieties.

The word Red refers to the colour of the ripe coffee cherry rather than a separate species or processing technique.

Red Catuai is often associated with:

• chocolate sweetness
• caramel character
• rounded body
• approachable acidity
• stone-fruit notes
• strong performance as espresso

But cultivar alone does not determine the final cup.

Elevation, soil, climate, agricultural practices, harvesting, drying, storage, and roasting all influence how Catuai expresses itself.

This lot is particularly interesting because Royal Coffee’s green analysis identified the coffee as approximately 16–17 screen size with well-below-average density. Royal’s roasting team found that this lower density allowed significant flexibility in roast expression, with different approaches revealing very different sensory profiles.

Producer & Terroir

The Fernandes family’s coffee story began in the municipality of Pedralva, Minas Gerais, in the 1970s.

Mario Fernandes originally farmed livestock and sugarcane. At a time when frost had severely damaged Brazilian coffee production, rising coffee prices encouraged him to experiment with planting coffee.

The first attempt was unsuccessful when another frost destroyed the crop.

Eventually, encouraged by his son Paulo Alexandre, the family reinvested in coffee. Over the following decades, the Fernandes property developed into a coffee-producing farm.

After Mario’s death in 2010, the original family property was divided among the children who wanted to continue farming. This reduced the size of individual properties but created an opportunity for more precise management and specialty production.

Today, Paulo Alexandre and Débora manage Sítio do Balaio.

The farm covers only around 10 hectares, with approximately 4 hectares dedicated to coffee — extremely small compared with many Brazilian coffee estates.

That scale is part of what makes this coffee interesting.

Instead of maximizing production, the family can concentrate attention on a relatively small area and carefully manage harvesting, drying, and preparation.

The terroir combines:

• approximately 1,300 MASL elevation
• mountainous Minas Gerais terrain
• mineral-rich clay soils
• moderate temperatures
• slow cherry maturation
• small-scale family farming

The result is a coffee with the familiar sweetness of Brazilian natural coffee, but with considerably more definition and complexity.

Process Deep Dive — Natural

This coffee is a reminder that natural processing does not have to mean experimental fermentation.

Sometimes the most compelling results come from doing the fundamentals exceptionally well.

Sítio do Balaio uses a traditional full-natural process, allowing the coffee cherry to dry intact around the seed.

Process Timeline

1. Selective Harvest

Ripe cherries are selectively harvested from the coffee trees.

The objective is to begin the drying process with mature fruit and a high level of natural sugar development.

2. Cherry Washing & Sorting

The harvested cherries are washed and floated to separate less-developed and damaged cherries from higher-density fruit.

This step helps improve consistency before drying. A separate description of Sítio do Balaio’s processing also reports flotation and sorting before the whole cherries enter the drying stage.

3. Whole-Cherry Drying

Unlike washed coffees, the cherry is not immediately depulped.

The entire fruit remains around the coffee seed while it dries.

The cherries are spread for slow drying, allowing the fruit to progressively lose moisture while influencing the developing sensory profile.

4. Slow Natural Drying

The cherries are dried gradually until the coffee reaches a stable moisture level.

Sítio do Balaio descriptions report approximately 20 days of drying, with the cherries eventually reaching around 10–12% moisture before storage.

5. Stabilization

Once sufficiently dry, the coffee is stored in its dried parchment/cherry structure before milling.

6. Dry Milling & Preparation

The dried coffee is hulled and sorted before being prepared for export.

The minimal-intervention approach keeps the processing straightforward while allowing the cultivar and terroir to remain central to the cup.

Why Natural Processing?

Natural processing can amplify fruit sweetness while adding body and depth.

For this Red Catuai, the process creates an interesting balance between traditional Brazilian characteristics and more expressive fruit.

The natural process helps emphasize:

• fig
• raisin
• blackberry
• blueberry
• apricot
• salted caramel
• dark chocolate
• baking spice

Royal Coffee’s tasting team specifically noted that the fruit character is present but not overpowering, allowing sweetness and chocolate depth to remain central to the experience.

That balance is one of the reasons this coffee stands out.

It is unmistakably a natural Brazil — but a very carefully executed one.

Sensory Analysis (CVA)

Fragrance & Aroma

The dry fragrance opens with dried fig, raisin, dark chocolate, and soft baking spice. As the coffee cools, deeper berry aromatics begin to emerge.

Flavour

The cup begins with ripe fig and raisin before developing into blackberry, dark chocolate, and salted caramel.

Acidity

Moderate and rounded, with a soft fruit acidity rather than a sharp citrus profile.

Mouthfeel

Full, creamy, and syrup-like with a buttery tactile quality.

Finish

Long and sweet, with lingering dark chocolate, caramel, dried fruit, and gentle spice.

Royal Coffee’s roasting evaluations similarly found combinations of figs, dates, raisins, salted caramel, dark chocolate, peppercorn, and a creamy finish.

CVA Descriptive Summary

Internal CVA Evaluation

Final Evaluation: 93.50

Dawnbird internal/sample evaluation — to be confirmed through production cupping.

The score is intentionally presented as a Dawnbird evaluation target/sample result, not as the official score assigned by Royal Coffee.

Roast Philosophy

This coffee requires a different approach from the high-density African coffees in our lineup.

Royal Coffee’s green analysis describes the coffee as well below average in density, and its roasting team found that a slower approach generally produced the best balance. One Diedrich IR5 profile used a total roast time of 9:32, while another Aillio Bullet profile developed the coffee in 8:20 and found significant changes in the cup as it cooled.

For Dawnbird, the goal is to preserve the natural fruit while giving enough development to fully express the caramel, chocolate, and dried-fruit sweetness.

The roast approach focuses on:

• gentle energy management
• controlled drying
• extended Maillard development
• restrained post-crack development
• allowing the coffee’s low density to develop evenly

Rather than chasing maximum fruit intensity, the objective is balance.

We want the cup to move naturally from fruit toward chocolate and caramel.

Roast Targets

The resulting profile is designed to highlight:

• fig sweetness
• raisin
• dark chocolate
• salted caramel
• baking spice
• creamy body

Royal Coffee’s own roasting work supports the idea that this coffee responds well to slower, controlled roasting, particularly because of its low density.

Brewing Recommendations

Filter — V60

Suggested Pour Structure

• 0:00 — 50 g bloom
• 0:40 — pour to 150 g
• 1:15 — pour to 225 g
• 1:45 — finish at 300 g

This recipe emphasizes:

• dried fruit sweetness
• caramel
• chocolate
• balanced body

Espresso

This espresso profile highlights:

• fig
• raisin
• dark chocolate
• salted caramel
• creamy body

The coffee’s combination of natural sweetness, low density, and full tactile structure makes it particularly well suited to espresso. Royal Coffee’s roasting team also found it promising for both filter and espresso.

Brewing Experiment — Fruit vs. Chocolate

This coffee is especially interesting because its sensory balance can shift considerably depending on extraction.

Royal Coffee’s Ikawa testing found that different roast approaches produced markedly different cups. A lower-density profile produced dark brown sugar and blueberry pie, while a higher-density profile brought out kiwi, pear, and raspberry.

This makes Sítio do Balaio an excellent coffee for experimentation.

The same beans can move from a bright fruit-forward cup toward a deep, chocolate-driven profile simply through extraction and roast development.

Transparency & Traceability

Lot Information

Royal Coffee’s green analysis specifically notes the 16–17 screen range and low density, while the producer story confirms the exceptionally small 10-hectare farm and approximately 4 hectares planted in coffee.

Final Notes

Sítio do Balaio is not a coffee that needs exotic processing to make an impression.

Its beauty comes from something much more fundamental:

cultivar, place, family, and craft.

The cup evolves continuously:

• fig becomes raisin
• raisin becomes dark fruit
• fruit becomes caramel
• caramel becomes chocolate
• chocolate fades into a soft spice finish

It is a coffee that works beautifully as both filter and espresso, but its greatest strength may be its versatility.

You can approach it as a classic Brazilian natural.

You can approach it as a specialty Red Catuai.

Or you can simply brew it and let the layers reveal themselves.

Sometimes the most exciting coffees are not the ones that reinvent the rules.

They are the ones that show us how good the rules can be when they are followed exceptionally well.

Sítio do Balaio is one of those coffees.