The Delgado family has owned Maranhao for over 35 years. Jose Delgado is a great guy as is his son Claiton. They are the warmest most hospitable, humble people you could ever meet, and some of the hardest working.
Claiton, knew early on, at school that he was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps to be a coffee farmer. At the young age of 24 (ish?), he is married and has built a house on the drying patio, with his wife. They are a great family to work with. When we visited they had a James Gourmet / Sitio Maranhao bag, framed on their wall.
Sitio (meaning small farm) Maranhao (Named after the state in the North East of Brazil)
Caldas, Minas Gerais Brazil. Some 1150 Meters above sealevel.
Things that make Sitio Maranhao stand out are :
Jose decided that their future is all about coffee and that to succeed had to be specialty. Quality standards are stringent during harvest and in preparation for the next, too.
The family does everything. This is hard work, slower (as there are fewer people involved) harvesting and plant husbandry. They also mill and dry their coffee onsite too. Harvest usually lasts for about 4 months and is 14 hours of manual labour a day. Every day.
Sitio Maranhao is on quite a slope, which has water running through it with much beautiful wildlife.
Season after season the coffee quality is so clean and sweet and dependable.
We try and keep Maranhao in stock most of the year, because it is a top character coffee that can be brewed in many ways. At this time of year (fresh crop delivery) it is almost like a Tanzanian.
