In 1954, Mrs. Mariana de Carvalho Junqueira received this property as an inheritance from her parents, and with the property, also the love for the coffee production. Believing in this activity, like her father, she increased the area of cultivation and invested in the necessary machinery for the coffee processing in the post-harvest period. São Benedito Ranch is managed by one of her children, Mr. Márcio Heleno de Carvalho Junqueira, who counts on the technical support of agronomists of Procafé, EMATER and COCARIVE, in the coffee production. The property is located in a mild climate region, an annual rain precipitation of 1700mm and altitude between 3051 and 4593 feet. The certified seedlings were planted in a contour curve, aiming the preservation of the soil. Besides the cultivation of coffee and banana, the farm also works with Mangalarga horses raising. The farm has twenty registered workers, number that increases in the harvest time. The property is limited by the streets of the city, where the workers have their own house. They also receive health care and access to education and a leisure area on the farm for events or parties. All of them make use of the protection equipments when necessary. On Christmas time, a party is held on the farm, with all the employees, to commemorate the New Year that is coming and to thank the last year.

Processing system of the coffee beans

The search for quality starts in the selection of the seedlings and the varieties. Investing on the quality of production, the São Benedito Ranch has a washing and Pulped, cemented patios for drying and also hanging patios, a vertical dryer for the natural coffee, a rotative dryer, and wood storehouses for the pulped coffee. The harvest is selective and 100% natural. The coffee is transported to the area of processing, where is washed with clean and recycled water, avoiding the environment contamination and the water waste. After that, the coffee berries are pulped and spread on the patios in slim layers to make easier the process of drying, under the sun, and after, in the dryer machine. The different varieties of coffee are kept separated from each other. As they reach the ideal humidity, they are taken to the wood storehouses, where they rest for some days, and after they processed, packed and stored. The coffee produced in São Benedito Ranch is heavy-bodied, has a good acidity and a sweet, fruit and balanced flavor.

Concern on the quality

Quality is made with socio-environment responsibility. All the water used in the washer and Pulped machines is recycled and used for irrigation in other plantations. The São Benedito Ranch keeps also an area of environmental preservation, where we can find native vegetation and wild animals. The water springs, rivers and native wood are also protected. The farm is certified and associated with BSCA, APROCAM (Association of Coffee Producers of Mantiqueira), and also a cooperated of COCARIVE (Regional Cooperative of Coffee Producers of Vale do Rio Verde). Then, the farm gives a great value to the teamwork performed in the region, where everybody takes advantages from the exchange of experience of each other, and the consequently increasing of their technical knowledge. The São Benedito Ranch has the search of quality, the concern on the environment preservation and personal dedication to the excellence of production as a priority and philosophy. This is reached trough the continuous improvement and the evolution. As a result, its coffee is awarded in Brazil and already was exported to: Japan, Germany, USA, Arab Emirates and Taiwan, and the farm is also the supplier of IllyCafé since 2004.

Prizes:

* BSCA – 5 times as a finalist, being classified in the 9th place twice.
* EMATER-MG – 2nd position in 2005 and classified among the 13 finalists in 2006.
* ABIC – 3rd position in 2005.
* Illy – 2007/2008 crops – classified among the 50 finalists.

Property Characteristics: Coffee Characteristics:
Farm: Rancho São Benedito
Farmer: Mariana de Carvalho Junqueira
Rank: 11
City: Dom Viçoso
Region: Sul de Minas
Country: Brazil
Farm Size: 119.00 Hectares
Coffee growing area: 35.00 Hectares
Altitude: 1300 masl
Certification: None