THIS COFFEE DOES NOT TASTE LIKE CRAP- Jacu Bird Coffee now being roasted

This is a truly rare & exotic coffee. The unlikely hero of the story is the Jacu, a vegetarian bird native to South America that inhabits the beautiful, shaded forests of Fazenda Camocim in Espirito Santo state in Brazil.

The Jacu have the nasty habit of damaging the trees at Camocim and feasting on only the finest, ripest, sweetest coffee cherries, in particular of the prized yellow varieties.

Bad Birds- some of the damage the Jacu cause

Being a biodynamic farm, some other obvious solutions were out of the question. So Henrique, the owner, embraced the deeper philosophy of biodynamics in which his entire coffee farm is treated as a living system. And so the Jacu birds joined the team at Camocim. After the Jacu specially select the cherries and digest them, their droppings accumulate at the bottom of the trees.

Henrique had to pay some special incentives to get the farm workers to collect them, after which they are dried, cleaned and rested in parchment for an extended period of up to 3 months. This process was developed by Henrique with Evair Vieira de Mello, a consultant to the farm and one of best coffee tasters (cuppers) in Brazil.
You can say this coffee is so bird-friendly that the birds get to enjoy it before you do!

KOPI LUWAK- ANOTHER ANIMAL COFFEE

Kopi Luwak is another famous animal coffee processed by civet cats in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. These coffees have a reputation for being exceptionally expensive, of varying quality (many are lower grade robustas), and of having questionable environmental credentials.
The Jacu are processing true speciality grade coffee from an exceptional biodynamic farm. Read more about the environmental friendliness of the venture and another opinion on this unique coffee.

COFFEE WITH HISTORY

Camocim was founded by Sr. Olivar Fontenelle de Araújo (now over 100 years old), who had worked in the forestry industry and was very committed to the restoration of natural forests. His grandson Henrique has continued his grandfather’s legacy and extended his dream by introducing coffee production in 1999, and new planting projects are still underway.

Camocim uses the best of ancient and modern farming techniques; their partnership with the Jacu is just one of their sustainable farming practices. Organic agriculture promotes ecological harmony through minimum external inputs, intelligent crop rotation and by not using pesticides and herbicides. Enormous quantities of organic fertilizers are produced on the farm using inputs from the farm itself and surrounding farms.

Large sections of the property are given over to indigenous forest. Aside from the Jacu, the farm is home to other bird species, armadillos, otters, capybara (a large Brasilian rodent), and other various rodents, small crocodiles and other amphibians. While I was visiting the farm, we also saw a shy, tree sloth mother carrying her baby as she tried (slowly) to move away from us to safety.

JOEL VISITS CAMOCIM

I visited Camocim with Henrique in October 2008 and we spent 3 days together exploring the farm, discussing his unique approach to coffee, and tasting together. We even had an elusive sighting of 4 Jacu on a road, but
even with a camera in hand I did not manage to jump out in time to get a shot. Henrique laughed himself silly – he had spent days with the people from Globo television trying to capture the Jacu. Yet another exceptional visit to origin, allowing us to better understand the unique circumstances and stories of the people who grow our coffee.

Camocim also produces an exceptional coffee blossom honey and Jabuticaba and Pitanga jam. Camocim has a strong commitment to its staff. Most of the work on the farm is done by full-time employees who live with their families on the farm. Camocim invests in the training of their staff who are all certified cuppers and cup the coffees throughout the harvest.

Camocim is hailed as an example for the future of environmentally- conscious coffee production in Brazil. The Jacu has made Camocim and Henrique famous, with an abundance of television programmes and magazine articles highlighting the story of Jacu Coffee

DOING OUR BIT TO SAVE THE WORLD

Origin is the only roaster in South Africa to roast Jacu Bird Coffee (so this is a pretty exclusive bag). With this rare coffee Origin reaffirms its commitment to servingthe world’s best and most interesting coffee in Cape Town.
We’re also doing our bit to save the world: a quantity of Jacu Bird Coffee has been donated to SANCCOB for their annual charity auction. SANCCOB is a non-profit organization rehabilitating coastal birds exposed to pollution and natural disasters.

See the article in the Weekend Argus about this coffee- ‘Sweet , Creamy Bird Poo Brew’ (Subscriber’s only)