ORIGIN TRIP: BRAZIL 2026
Wow, what a whirlwind of a week!
Emma and Bruna from Bossa organised an unforgettable trip to Brazil.
A small group of us, including Fiona from Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters, Arron from Ninth Coffee Roasters, Ted from HRHiggins and Diana from Saint Espresso/Roastersaurus, set off to Brazil on 10th July.
The first part of the week was spent in the Cerrado Miniero Region of Brazil. Very much focussed around the producers that work with Expocacer, a significant coffee producer cooperative based in Patrocinio, Expocacer represents hundreds of growers specialising in speciality coffees with direct global trade.
We visited a number of suppliers and took part in many cuppings. Particular highlights were a visit to Horizontina Farm, where Fernando Belone showed us around his considerable estate and Elesandra Belone introduced us to some of her experimental microlots. Employing over 300 people on two farms, they really are an impressive set up!
We then visited the super impressive Nunes Farm, where Gabriel Nunes showed us various varietals, but most impressive of all were his enormous Gesha crops which tasted super sweet and just about ready to harvest. The drying beds were vast and super well organised. We then had an unforgettable BBQ where we were joined by his extensive family and local producers; their lives really do revolve around coffee and farming, and their commitment to sustainable farming and regenerative practice is plain to see.
After two and half days in the Cerrado Miniero Region, it was time to travel to visit Bruna’s family and nearby farmers in the Pinhal region.
A real highlight of the second part of the trip for me was meeting Patricia Coehlo and Andrea Costa. Andrea supplies us with the Brazilian coffee we use in our CASA espresso blend, whilst Patricia has two farms, one at 800masl and one at 1,250masl where she grows a variety of different coffees. Driving around in the back of her truck, we were introduced to her biodiverse farm and saw first hand how much hard work goes in to her stunning microlots. She is such an insipiration and she’s teaching her craft to her son, who is continuing her hard work. She grows other crops in between her coffee and rents part of her land out to bee keepers in return for pots of honey. She really is a true entrepreneur, totally invested in regenerative farming.
Bruna’s father, Armando has established himself as a dedicated player in the export of Brazillian coffee with a focus on ethical business practice and investing in the local community. It’s fair to say that I hadn’t appreciated how vast the scale of this business was! The business largely works in the commercial side of coffee, but it was super interesting to see the quantity of commodity coffee passing through the factory… over 1,000,000 bags per year!
In general, coffee in Brazil is on such an huge scale. The drying beds were vast and seeing the experimental methods being used for processing was super interesting. We cupped hundreds of coffees; who knew my tastebuds had that many sessions in them per day!
I was surprised to find out that it is illegal to roast any coffees from any other country in Brazil. You can sell other coffees, but they must be roasted outside of the country which ensures that Brazil is focussing on home grown goods. It’s similar with their fruit and veg, in fact I tried so many wonderful fruits that I’ve never even heard of before!
My other take home, aside from coffee, is that the dogs are amazing. At times it felt like we were on a dog retreat -they were the friendliest cutest pooches in the world!
All in all, the most phenomenal, insightful week. I will be back!
Itinerary:
Cerrado Miniero Ragion
July 13th
Morning
Expocacer – Reception and cupping
Cupping at Guimarães Office
Afternoon
Visit of Douradinhos Farm – Elizabeta Maria Martins
Visit tp Atriz Farm
Departure to Patrocinio
July 14th
Morning Cupping Session Expocacar
Visit Horizontina Farm – Fernando Belone & Elesandra Belone
Afternoon
Visit to Nunes Coffee Farm
Gabriel Nunes & Happy hour and BBQ with producers
July 15th
Expocacar – cupping, before travelling to Espirito Santo Region
July 16th
Patricia Coehlo’s farms – visited two farms, one 800m and one 1,250m
Visit to Costa Café Office and cupping (Bruna’s dad)
Sunset and dinner at Bonventi Winery
July 17th
Visit to Andrea Costa’s farm
Vist to Casta Café Dry Mill
Dinner at Barrinha Farm (Bruna’s family farm)
