For more than 40 years producing coffee, the 22nd harvest stood out for its quality and the record of BRL 62,017.00 in the prize auction, being the most expensive coffee in the cycle
you followed here Agricultural News that the year 2022 was marked by the 50 years of coffee in Cerrado Mineiro. We know some stories that made the region become the power that it is in the production of quality coffees, but there is still a lot to explore with those who, back there, explored unknown land, still with dubious potential and that half a century later became one of the main arabica production areas in the world.
>>> Check out the special Cerrado – 50 years here
O Cafezal Between the Lines Today, he returns to the heart of Cerrado Mineiro, in the city of Patrocínio, to learn about the family history Namegwhich in addition to being part of a successful trajectory, was also consecrated as the most valuable coffee of the 22nd harvest, breaking the record of values for all these years of coffee in the region.
But to understand how the family reached its present heights, as always, you have to go back in time. As part of the stories of the Cerrado, it all started in Paraná. It was in 1962 that the family bought the first area destined for agribusiness. But it was in 1965 that the first coffee tree was planted in northern Paraná.
The first scare with frost was in 75, then in 78 and then in 81. Jorge Naimeg, one of the sons in charge of the family business today, recalls that after six years of intense cold, his father decided to look for new areas to follow with coffee growing.
At that time, the first producers began to arrive to explore the Cerrado Mineiro. It was a land in the micro region of Pântano that his father fell in love with and started a coffee plantation that, since its first planting, has already been of quality, an intrinsic characteristic of the Cerrado.
“Looking for other frontiers to plant coffee, my father got to know the Pântano region and fell in love with the area, little by little he started planting coffee”, he says. In the early years, the family was divided between Paraná and Minas Gerais.
From 1988 everyone moved to Minas and until mid-1992 production was focused only on quantity, until the first participation in illy’s quality contest “turned the key” to quality coffee – which was already produced by the family , but with potential still unknown to them.
It was also in 1992 that the first sample of coffee from the Naimeg family was sent for analysis by illy – since then, one of the main responsible for taking Brazilian coffee around the world. Recognizing the potential for quality in the cup and market opportunities, the family began to invest more heavily in infrastructure as well.
In 1999 it started working in the production of peeled cherry, in 2002 it invested in the suspended yard and in 2011 it invested in the classification and tasting structure in the business itself. In 2017, it was the turn of yeast tests. “We are always looking to innovate, always looking to improve processes and for 30 years, without a break, we have been coffee suppliers to illy”, he says.
Crop quality mapping also became a crucial part of the Naimeg family’s crop planning. Based on this data, the entire process is planned, always focusing on quality. “What is important to make clear is that we do not stop the farm to make a “contest batch”. The whole process involves a lot of research, a lot of knowledge and the awards end up being a recognition of the work we do on a daily basis”, says Jorge.
Currently, four brothers run the family’s coffee agribusiness. But the curiosity for always innovating is an inheritance from his father. According to Jorge, very simple, but always very curious, this search for constant innovation is a characteristic of the family.
“It’s our way of working: always looking for improvement, always studying, tuned in, knowing how the market is going, understanding what the consumer wants. Today the consumer wants to try everything that is different, he has a sensory profile, we have to continue studying the alternatives. Even more so than a coffee of the same variety, depending on the process, it presents different characteristics in the cup”, he comments.
Most valuable coffee in Cerrado Mineiro in the 2022/23 harvest
The results were even more surprising in the 2022 harvest, after two years of much climatic impasse with prolonged drought and even frost hitting the region in the period.
Of natural variety, with sensory notes that refer to red fruits, sugar cane, floral, brown sugar, Jorge Fernando’s coffee received a score of 90.75 on the scale of the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association). In addition, it reached a record negotiation value, with BRL 62,017.00 in the prize auction, being the most expensive coffee of the 2022/2023 harvest.
“A curiosity about this coffee is that the roasted kilo also valued the exceptionality, which cost R$ 1,240.34. This is what we call a reward for the quality and complexity of the beverage’s aromas and flavor,” says Maurício Maciel, Manager and Barista at Cafeteria Dulcerrado.
For Juliano Tarabal – Superintendent of the Federation of Coffee Growers of Cerrado Mineiro, the result of the Naimeg family is a source of pride for everyone involved in the coffee chain in the region.
“The Naimeg family has a brilliant career in Cerrado Mineiro. As immigrants and Pioneers that they are, led by the patriarch Gerson Naimeg, they settled in the microregion of Pântano, in the municipality of Coromandel, they managed to “tame” this beautiful terroir and today they make some of the best coffees there, not only in the Cerrado of Minas Gerais but in Brazil, with a very particular know-how, the fruit of the dedication of all Gerson’s children who are now involved in the business. They have always been very active with the associations and cooperatives of the RCM system, so their results and consistency are not by chance and make us very proud”, he says.
For Jorge, the challenges continue and it’s time to think about the next vintages. “Today everyone makes coffee. The quality bar has gone up a lot, for you to be surprised you have to dedicate yourself and keep trying. The 2022 award is the result of long-lasting work, of doing the right process and knowing that each year is different. what we are certain of is not to give up coffee, it’s in the blood, coffee has always been in our family and now we are going to work to make this business even more attractive for our children. The work continues”, he concludes.