Veloso Colecta Cerrado Mineiro

The story behind Veloso Colecta Cerrado Mineiro

Veloso Colecta is among Brazil's most highly regarded coffee producers. Based in Cerrado Mineiro, they have around 2480 hectares of land and produce 95,000 bags of coffee every year. They were founded in 1971 and remain a family-run business focused on quality coffee. They grow primarily the catuai variety, at an altitude of 1,000-1,300 meters above sea level, with several other varieties grown at any of their six farms in the region including bourbon, acaia, mondo novo, and others.

The Cerrado Mineiro region is the first “Designation of Origin” in Brazil, located northwest of the Minas Gerais state in the central part of the country. The coffees under this Designation of Origin are “Origin and Quality Guaranteed” by the Cerrado Minerio Region – D.O. Regulatory Board, and each bag carries a QR code connecting it to the specific farm and farmer who produced the coffee. This adds a layer of traceability, which is often difficult in Brazil's massive coffee-growing regions.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, and coffee production in Brazil is unique because Brazilian farms tend to have flatter elevations, less shade cover, and more manicured fields. They also use mechanical harvesters and produce far more coffee per hectare than other origins. Coffee in Cerrado Mineiro grows between 800-1300 meters above sea level and has very distinct rainy and dry seasons, creating the distinctive coffee of the region.