STiR coffee and tea magazine

54 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 3, 2018 (June / July) Ipanema's mobile app provides up-to-date traceability of specialty blends by lot for clients and their customers. Ipanema Coffee's Unique Mobile APP Tracing the origin story from seed to cup is the ultimate in marketing artisan coffee. Ipanema has developed a mobile application for iOS and An- droid that reveals the unique qualities and complexity of each bean used in its premiere Grano Segreto project. The coffee is one of a series of Premier Cru coffees created from select varietals grown on several different farms. Ipanema demonstrates its exceptional attention to detail by us- ing the app to describe every aspect step by step with charts and photos and data traceable to the lot. Click to see how the coffee is grown, and how it is processed, beginning with a maturation curve. In 2012 at Rio Verde, the company decided to identify the best moment to initiate the harvest, explains the app. "For instance, in May only the top of the trees and sun-facing branches are ripe. In June the majority of the plants are ready for harvest, so during 2012/13 each glebe was handpicked and dried and tasted individually, week by week, to obtain the ideal maturation curve," according to the app. This information is essential for coffee professionals as well as potential customers. Keeping track of a specific lot is challenging for both coffee buyers and producers. Newsletters, WhatsApp and Sky- pe calls are common channels of communication but there are downsides to relying on one-to-one conversations from inconvenient time zones. The app displays forms updated throughout the process for everyone throughout the year—not just during harvest. Marketing is a logical outgrowth of the weekly updates. Besides learning technical details like the origin farm, altitude, blossom date, harvest date, orientation, days stored, and drying methods, consumers can even share knowledge and exchange information with Ipanema's specialists and coffee connoisseurs all over the world. Wet mill fermentation tanks. Depulpers, elevators, and other equipment are situated to make optimal use of space and improve work flow and safety. Facts about Rio Verde Farm • Located at Conceição do Rio Verde municipality, Minas Gerais state; • Area: 1,566 hectares, of which 626 hectares are dedicated to coffee production, 167 to other crops and 773 hectares to environmental preservation; • Terroir: Fertile clay soils, mountain- ous topography, altitudes varying between 900 and 1,330 meters, subtropical climate with dry winter and average of 1,550 ml of annual rainfall. • Productivity: Rio Verde Farm yields and average 36 bags per hectare meet the needs of any roaster. Ipanema offers green coffee in 16 sensorial profiles. The possibilities are countless. The farm's processing capabilities enable roasters to order a combination of varietals that benefit from best practices of soil management through processing. Rodrigues states proudly that this is a "one-of-a kind mill." He cites this example: Ipanema Coffees designated 32 coffee glebes at altitudes from 1,000 to 1,330 meters above sea level. The lots are planted in yellow bourbon, yellow catuai and acaciá (a Mundo Novo hybrid). These varieties are combined to make up the Grano Segreto Collection that debuted at the Specialty Coffee Expo 2018 in Seattle. From the injection of $10 million, 80% was exclusively dedicated to the new milling structure's study and implementation in the last two years with 10% allocated to other projects such as: forest preservation (environmental monitoring and water factory pro- gram), educational programs, the develop- ment of a museum, eco-friendly trails used for educational purposes and the Concept House. What is left of the total investment is dedicated to marketing and communi- cating the story of Ipenema. In Brazil, where 80% of coffee pro- ducers are small holders with properties of 5 to 20 hectares, the 4,230 hectares en- closed by the Rio Verde, Conquista, Capoeirinha, and Sant'Ana farms make Ipanema exceptionally large, yet nimble and progressive. The company's legacy of science- based innovation and technology has been central to its success since the first plant was cultivated in Rio Verde in 1887.

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