Rio Claro has been in Heleno Bachião Dolivo’s family for three generations.  Fazenda Rio Claro is in the perfect location for quality coffee production. Located in one of Brazil’s most renowned coffee growing regions, the farm benefits from an elevation of just over 1,100 metres above sea level. The natural potential of the land is met by Heleno’s commitment to producing the best quality coffee that he can. 

Mr Sumarno has been growing coffee since 1999. Before that, he was primarily producing tobacco, which was a difficult crop to work with due to its high demands of agrochemicals. The transition to coffee proved to be an excellent decision, as Sumarno has succeeded at producing high yields of high-quality coffee. After his first harvest in 2005, Sumarno began to learn more about the coffee market, the agronomy behind the crop, and different processing methods. He is known throughout this region thanks to his extensive coffee knowledge.

During the harvest, the cherries are carefully handpicked and sent to the wet mill located at Sumarno’s home. This is common for large coffee producers or leaders of cooperatives in Indonesia. The cherries are first submerged in a tank of water to remove the floaters, or lower quality cherries. They are then de-pulped to remove the exterior fruit skin. Afterwards, the coffee is placed in special tubs, or kolas, to ferment in water for 24 hours and allow for the breakdown of the external mucilage. Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is washed a final time before being placed on drying racks to dry in the open sun for 15-20 days. During drying, the coffee is moved to the floor in order to reach a moisture content of 11.5 – 12%.