Imagine: carefully selected, hand-picked beans ripened under the Brazilian sun. Dried on wooden bark in the farm’s extensive patios, as it was done in the past. Ground and used to make an irresistible coffee with the aroma of cocoa liqueur, hazelnut and cane sugar.
Since 1896, the Cambrai family has been growing coffee in the village of Santo Antonio do Amparo – Sul de Minas region – Brazil. A passion for excellence drives today’s fourth generation of Samambaia Farm to produce unmatched batches of coffee using innovative and environmentally sustainable processes.
Sul de Minas, the southern part of the state of Minas Gerais is an area known for its specialty coffee farms. This region is known locally as Campos dos Vertenses because it forms a border between two very important water basins in Brazil: the Grande River Basin (which runs south) and the São Francisco River Basin (which runs northeast).
The cool green hills of this region provide ideal growing conditions for coffee and produce some of Brazil’s finest beans. Fazenda Samambaia, three times winner of the Cup Of Excellence in Brazil (2000, 2001, 2014), is owned by Enrique Cambrai, representing the 4th generation of a coffee growing family.
Enrique Diaz Cambria, attributes the success of his farm to a combination of different factors – the geographical location of the farm, the competent technical management of the plantations, the training that he does of his farmers that bases on quality control programs and most importantly, the motivation of the entire team working in the farm to produce ever better coffee.
Fazenda Samambaia has repeatedly won awards in the international Cup of Excellence competition, the most important worldwide competition that originated in 1999. It is a huge reward for the work of every farmer who has invested time and effort to produce true specialty coffee. Enrique’s very first entry in 2000 (just one year after the competition’s inception) earned him 11th place – proof that even in the infancy of specialty coffee culture Enrique had the ambition and motivation to produce the best coffees in Brazil. The following year – 2001 – he won 13th place. In 2014 – in the dry process category – his coffee ranked 20th.
Over the years, his farm has taken part in other competitions at a local level: 8th place in the Illy competition in 2001; 3rd place in the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) competition – 2006. In 2013 his coffee won the Starbucks Reserve® competition and in 2014 it won 10th place in the Rainforest Alliance competition. These are significant awards, proving the farmer’s desire to produce coffee that stands out for its taste.
For Enrique, innovation and experimentation are key elements in producing high quality coffee. An example of his innovative vision is the decision he took, together with his farmers, to move some coffee plantations to improve the interaction between the plants and the soil. Thanks to his dedication and the time he invests in research, his coffees have been awarded numerous prizes in several international competitions. Every year they are among the best coffees produced in Brazil.
Enrique is deeply committed not only to the production of high-quality coffee, but also to do socially responsible and environmentally sustainable agriculture. He is happy to say that during his time away from the farm between March 2000 and July 2001 – when he was studying for his Master’s degree in International Business in Phoenix, Arizona – his employees demonstrated that they fully understood and were able to support Fazenda Samambaia’s concept of sustainability.
Jordan Dabov has met Enrique on his many visits to Brazil, and now in 2022, the exciting moment has finally arrived to introduce his coffee. Hopefully this will be the foundation of a long-term collaboration that will provide us with the perfect sip of Brazilian coffee.
To ensure the perfect taste for you and to bring out the maximum notes of cocoa liqueur, hazelnut and cane sugar we roast Enrique’s coffee to a medium level. We recommend brewing it in a pot, filter or espresso. If you brew your Brazil Samambaia specialty coffee on filter you will experience a moderate balance between the flavor notes of cocoa and cane sugar. If you choose to make an espresso, you’ll enjoy a full-bodied cup, with the flavors of cocoa and hazelnut predominating. If you use a pot to make it – you’ll experience notes of dark roasted cocoa beans and hazelnut.
Experience the unforgettable Enrique Samambaia coffee and let the taste of cocoa liqueur, hazelnut and cane sugar warm your senses with DABOV Specialty Coffee Brazil Samambaia:
