Fazenda Serrado

About the Coffee

The Pereira family operates Fazenda Serrado in Carmo de Minas, a region in southern Minas Gerais known for its microclimates and high-elevation coffee production. Their farm sits at 1,150-1,200 meters, where they grow Yellow Bourbon, a mutation of the more common red Bourbon variety that produces yellow cherries when ripe.

This coffee is naturally processed, meaning the cherries are dried whole with the fruit intact rather than being washed off before drying. The method requires careful monitoring during the drying phase to prevent over-fermentation, but when done well, it creates sweetness and body that washed coffees don't achieve. Fernwood has purchased this coffee over multiple seasons, building a relationship with the Pereiras that allows for consistency year after year.

Yellow Bourbon tends to be sweeter and less acidic than its red counterpart, making it popular for natural processing. The variety combined with the elevation and processing creates a coffee that works across different brew methods without requiring specific equipment or technique to taste good.

About Fernwood

Ben and Terra started Fernwood after leaving behind years of high-end restaurant work in the Pacific Northwest. In 2006, when their son was one year old, they bought a café with a roaster in the back and shifted from kitchen life to coffee. They brought the same precision they'd learned in fine dining but wanted a slower pace that let them be present for their growing family.

At the time, putting café-quality coffee on grocery store shelves wasn't common practice. They started roasting in one-pound batches with daily quality control, refusing to take warehouse shortcuts even as they expanded from local butcher shops to regional grocers. The day their daughter Keiko was born, their first custom-printed bags arrived. They've grown from that single café to national distribution and e-commerce, but they still roast the same way: frequent small batches, direct relationships with producers, and coffee that doesn't require a degree in brewing to enjoy at home.

"Fernwood is a roaster you'll see all over Reddit as being one of BC's best. I asked to try their coffee, and now I get what all the hype is about. I bought a few extra bags of Manos al Grano for my stash at home."

- Dean, Director of Coffee