Nakao Family, Serra Negra Farm

Pulped Natural, Red Bourbon

“Coffee brings us memories, situations of our past where we find pleasure and warmth, and so we start the day every day, having a good and hot coffee”, it is with this thought and affection that Orlando Nakao and his son André Nakao lead the Fazenda Serra Negra, in Patrocínio city, in Cerrado Mineiro region. The farm was acquired by the Nakao family in 1984, it has an average altitude of 1160 m, in an incredible plateau, with microclimate favorable to the good coffees production. These features combined with daily dedication to the plantation and processes, result in unique coffees produced by the Nakao family.

In 1918, Mitsuo Nakao’s parents arrived in Brazil in search of work and better opportunities offered by Japanese emigration to Brazil. These immigrants went to work in the western coffee plantations of São Paulo. The coffee economy was the great engine of the Brazilian economy from the second half of the 19th century until the 1920s. Already in 1934 the family returned to Japan, with the dream of living in their homeland. Unfortunately, the beginning of the First World War led the family to return to Brazil and start growing coffee in the interior of the state of São Paulo.
Mitsuo Nakao was one of the pioneers coffee producers in the Cerrado Mineiro, moving from São Paulo to Minas Gerais in 1984. The first farms were in the region of Chapadão de Ferro, and later near the municipality of Patos de Minas and Patrocínio, expanding in a total of 6 farms.

The Fazenda Serra Negra production is focused on quality, a sign of this is the Red Bourbon plantations, which represent more than half of the crops, a variety that is recognized for its quality. Cultural dealings are planned in order to achieve better yields and better efficiency for plots to stay healthy. Aligned with the search for quality, sustainability also has its attention, Orlando uses an alternative practice to maintain organic matter in the soil, realizes the planting of brachiaria in the plots lines that are later grazed and thrown under the skirt of the coffee tree.

Harvest

When the fruits begin to ripen, it is made a plan to start harvesting. The planning is done in search of efficiency, prioritizing the plots with a higher percentage of mature fruits and passes, in the period of up to 90 days, with attention and focus on maintaining the quality of all coffee harvested. The harvest is a hundred percent mechanized, made with the harvester adjusted to harvest the maximum of mature fruits. In the harvest period, Orlando counts on the support of 8 employees in all the activities demanded.

Post-Harvest

Soon after harvest, the harvested fruits are taken to the processing structure where the coffees are washed and separated by density – with water coming from a farm dam. The ripe fruits are processed in four different ways: Honey Process, Fully Washed, Aerobic Fermentation and Anaerobic Fermentation. After being processed the coffees go through the drying process, and are stored on average for 15 days to rest, and then are benefited. According to Orlando the differential of their work is to produce large batches with consistency and quality.

At Fazenda Serra Negra sustainability is also an important factor, the farm is Rainforest Alliance certified and it is verified by the 4C program. They practice the conservation of fauna and flora, and together with the certification group they work on a project to collect recyclables in all schools in the Patrocínio rural area. Orlando and Andre are very close to their collaborators, they try to help them whenever they need.

Future Projects

The challenge of producing quality coffees drives them to constantly innovate and seek new projects. They are planning to install African beds and make improvements in the fermentation processes.