Brazil Sítio Canaã Pulped Natural

Tastes Like: Golden Sultana, Creamed Honey and Pecan Pie

Producer: Kleumon Silva Moreira
Farm: "The Promised Land"
Region: Chapada Diamantina
Town: Piatã
State: Bahia
Harvested: June - August
Variety: Topazio, Acauã
Altitude: 1280 - 1340 masl
Process: Pulped Natural

This microlot was grown at Sítio Canaã (which translates to “The Promised Land” in Portuguese). The farm lies just outside the small town of Piatã, in Bahia’s Chapada Diamantina region, ranging across 1,280 to 1,340 meters above sea level. Chapada Diamantina translates to “Diamond Plateau” in Portuguese, and for 100 years this area was mined for the gemstones embedded in its cliffs. Today, the region is famous for its specialty coffee.

Sítio Canaã is owned and managed by Kleumon Silva Moreira. Kleumon is young – he’s still in his 30s – but has been working in coffee for well over a decade, alongside his mentor, Antônio Rigno.  Antônio is widely regarded as the best producer in the region and is famous for his commitment to quality, having achieved many accolades for his coffees in the Cup of Excellence competition along with other quality awards over the years. Rigno has provided advice and guidance for many producers in Chapada, and Kleumon began his career by working by his side for several years learning everything from how to plant and care for the trees through to processing.

In 2016, using all of his savings along with a small loan from the bank (for which Antônio was his guarantor), Kleumon put together enough to establish his own coffee farm. He purchased a 10-hectare plot of land and began planting it with a wide range of varieties, including Topázio, Catuaí, Obata, Bourbon, Paraiso, Arara and Acauã (Kleumon’s favourite!). Since then, Kleumon has been able to buy more land to expand the estate, with the most recent addition being a fifteen-hectare plot in 2022.

Kleumon is a conscientious producer and meticulous in the way that he approaches every aspect of his plantation. Each of the trees at Sítio Canaã is carefully planted 60cm apart and in rows that are 3.3m apart, mirroring the precision and best practices from Antônio Rigno’s farms. To optimise and supplement his income while his coffee trees fully mature, Kleumon has also planted sugarcane, passionfruit, and strawberries — but as his coffee production grows, he is slowly moving away from these crops (though he enjoys producing cachaça and panela bricks for his own consumption). The property also includes a water reserve, which Kleumon relies on heavily during years when the region is experiencing a drought.

Along with his farm, Kleumon has also established a successful and healthy nursery of coffee seedlings, to continuously expand the number of trees planted in his property, as well as to sell to other producers in the region. Over the years, the sale of seedlings and young coffee trees to other producers in Piatã, and to larger companies like Fazenda Progresso, who are seeking to expand in the area has become an important source of income for Kleumon and his family. Because Canaã already grows the varieties that are for sale, producers can visit to see how they perform on the local soil, and to get an indication of the cup profile they can expect. Each May, Moreira receives orders from potential customers, and then grows their seedlings over the course of six to seven months. All work is done manually, by Kleumon and a team of around ten experienced and specialised workers who travel from Minas Gerais for the task.

Kleumon also manages day-to-day operations at Silvio Leite’s estate Cerca de Pedras (which is down the road from Canaã) and serves as Silvio’s right-hand person in town. In this role, Kleumon manages the estate’s admin work and is responsible for all the farming and processing decisions made. Throughout the year, Moreira visits other producers who work with Silvio in the region, providing them advice and assisting in their transition to solely producing specialty grade coffee. Kleumon’s love for Piatã and connection to its terrain is evident when spending time with him — he loves brewing coffee outdoors and hiking the hills that surround Sítio Canaã on his days off.

Kleumon represents the next generation of coffee producers in Piatã and continues to impress with his considered and progressive approach to coffee production. We have purchased his complete production every year since his first harvest in 2018 — and we hope to continue to do so for many years to come. When we first met him, Kleumon was quiet and reserved, and his focus was solely on establishing his farm. As he continues to accomplish more with Sitio Canaã and gain the respect of his neighbours and fellow coffee producers, Kleumon has grown in confidence, and we now count him as a dear friend.

In 2019, using their earnings from coffee, Kleumon and wife Diana were able to buy land in Piatã town to build a house, where they now live with their two children. When talking about the dreams and goals for their future, the couple share that they have no intention of leaving the specialty coffee industry, and hope to plant more trees and continue to expand the amount of coffee they grow.