A love letter to Minas Gerais
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Today I brought something really special: a love letter to my favourite State.
When people think of Brazil they have two places in mind: Rio de Janeiro or Amazônia. Can’t blame them. Our country is simply too big for a foreigner to comprehend, as it can be overwhelming even for its own citizens.
Without some googling, I don’t know the names of all countries in Europe that used to be a part of the USSR, for example. And this is somewhat the size and proximity of Brazil’s states. The one I’ll talk about today is literally 12 times bigger than the Netherlands. Yes, this ONE STATE is almost the size of Spain, a whole country.
Its grandiosity, however, is not only a geographical matter. Our food history is a mixture of native, European and African cuisine. Many European and African recipes became not only (deliciously) cassava based but also met by the variety that comes from the most fertile ground in the world for agriculture.
That being said, Minas Gerais cuisine is 100% my favourite. The variety of corn products, combinations with milk sweet caramel, their “cheese and coffee everything”, the sausages, the wood oven tradition… these are simply what comes to mind when I think of comfort food. Everywhere throughout the state, food is always good. It’s that same “there is no such thing as bad food in Italy” feeling.
As you will notice through the reviews on my former Instagram, most of the culinary in South East Brazil is based on Minas Gerais food tradition. For a reason: it is the best place in the world to eat.
Of course, I am very biased. Minas Gerais is the most divided-into-super-small-cities state, so much so that in some cities the population is blood-related. My mom's family lives in one of those tiny cities, called Lagoa da Prata (pics above). Literally, most of this city's population are my relatives. Think about 120 cousins who had children, who had children...
That being said, you probably want confirmation from someone who does not have an emotional boundary with Minas Gerais. And I got you.
On my last birthday, I went to La Caféthèoque, the top coffee experts on Paris island. There you can find a variety of brands, and have coffee from different regions prepared with different machines, by truly passionate enthusiasts.
My boyfriend had a shirt written “Pelé”, which moved one of the owners to approach us and take a picture. He was happy to see Brazilian people visiting the place due to his dear relationship with our country:
“I’ve been to Brazil many times and I love the coffee and the food. Especially from Minas Gerais. If you ever need good coffee there, visit “Oficina do Café” in Belo Horizonte”.
I’m ridiculously lucky to have a such background, I know. When I went to Lagoa da Prata last winter, my cousin brought us some coffee from that same Oficina do Café — Belo Horizonte. And BOY OH BOY, folks from La Caféthèoque were absolutely right. We need to talk about Catucaí Amarelo.
Naturally bred at Brazilian Coffee Institute (Varginha, Minas Gerais), Catucaí is a mix between Icatú and Catuaí Arabica coffees. Catuaí, in Tupi-Guarani (indigenous Brazilian peoples language), means “really good”.
The result from this experiment of natural crossing was a coffee bean so sweet it does not require any sugar. Not only that, but it’s extremely resistant to the fungi Phoma/Ascochyta and Hemileia vastatrix. This natural resistance means it requires fewer chemicals to survive and thrive. Also, it has 50% less caffeine so you can have double the mug and half the toilet break 💩
If you have had Catucaí Amarelo before, you know what I’m talking about: your friend who can’t tolerate pure coffee (we pray for those) loves this one. The smell? Absolutely delicious. At the same time, it has something citric to its flavour, almost as if you were biting a coffee cherry instead of drinking the roasted bean.
The one I have is the orange package from Achega. It was processed specially for espresso machines and builds great crema easily on my Brikka Moka Pot.
I give this bad boy a 10/10. I’m once again extra grateful to be Brazilian. Hope you guys also find Catucaí Amarelo where you live 👋
