Brazil Fazenda São Judas Tadeu is back for its fourth year, and is now a firm favourite with you as well as us. I wouldn't say we found this coffee, but we spotted it before it came 5th in the 2008 Cup of Excellence competition. Since then I have been able to visit the farm and I've met the farmer, Antônio, twice now.

Fazenda São Judas Tadeu is located in Chapada Diamantina, in the city of Piatã in Bahia. The farm belongs to Mr. Antônio Rigno, who has been a coffee producer for more than 25 years. He tries to grow the coffee in a sustainable way, conducting the workers technically with the use of chemical pesticides and keeping the packages of these products for recycling, to protect the environment. It's an up and coming area for coffee with some stunning beans coming through. In addition to Antônio's 5th place this year in the Cup of Excellence, his neighbour came 1st, the first time Bahia has won a CoE number 1 placing.

On the farm the coffee cherries are harvested selectively by hand twice a day during harvest season, and are transported by tractors to the pulping machine where the skin and pulp is removed from the beans. The beans are then spread on drying patios with the sticky mucilage still on them. The beans are then spread in layers of about 4cm and mixed several times a day to ensure even drying. The variety is Catuai and the pulped natural process is used.

This is another of our 'exclusive coffees in the UK'. We have also stood up and dug deep into our pockets with a substantial commitment on the coffee again, but I think it's worth it.

This coffee was awarded 6th place in the Bahia Quality Competition 2011 - a state-sponsored competition that has been running since 2001 with the aim of finding the finest quality coffees from Bahia, in northern Brazil. The competition is run along similar lines to the Cup of Excellence, with repeated blind cupping of competition lots by an independent jury and use of CoE score sheets. Last year (2011) was the first year that international judges have been invited to the jury, and we are happy to support a farm with whom we have had a relationship for a while, with this competition lot.

Very similar (in a good way) to last year's cup. In the cup expect molasses-like acidity, with great chocolate and cocoa sweetness and a crunchy chocolate-type honeycomb after taste. A very well balanced espresso and lovely brewed coffee.

Chocolate and cocoa sweetness with a crunchie chocolate type honeycomb

Sweetness: 7/8

Acidity: 6/8

Total Score: 93/100