Brazil; the land of football, samba and coffee! After the 11-hour flight to Sao Paulo, the 4-hour drive to the small coffee hotspot of Machado in Sud de Minas we were greeted by our good friend Demilson. Within an hour we are laughing, eating birthday cake and drinking beer in his kitchen, sharing highs and lows of coffee, business and life.
One unavoidable issue is clear on a visit to a larger fazenda (farm) after lunch – the effects of climate change causing inconsistent harvests. Ideally you would get a coffee tree full of cherries ripening at the same time so they can be picked all at once. We are seeing more and more that you will get a huge range of ripeness with some green, some beautiful reds and some with a covering of mould! On large fazendas with more machinery and less selective picking it results in a more inconsistent crop that you can taste in the cup. Fuelled with a punchy espresso we press on and visit the cooperative mill. The government has subsidised the coffee industry allowing newer and more sophisticated technology to help with processing the coffee. It is good to see the whole process with its moving parts – there is a lot of care and attention that goes into our espressos and drip coffees.
The next day is all about the Sitio’s – more small scale coffee farms. We meet Angelo who shows us around his Sitio Paradiso. Angelo is eager to show us his new coffee fermentation which he is hoping to get a good volume of and sell at a higher price than his normal Arabica coffee. After coffee, cheese and pao de queijo (cheesy bread) at the farmhouse we are off to visit our friends from the Jacutinga Community. Nelson takes us up in his Gaiola to proudly show us the best view of the surrounding area – and it is pretty spectacular. Nelson is able to share some of the issues that the community is facing and we later reflect with Demilson that these are the communities we can really help by allowing them a route to market they would otherwise be without.
The few days we have with Demilson are a real joy. The relationship with him and his family has developed from a work relationship to one of true friendship. We laugh lots, eat good food and talk about the future plans we all have. Coffee is a great industry to work in, full of great people who are fun to work with; Demilison is one of those guys.
The second half of the week we are based nearby at the Caixeta family farm – Vira Mao. Athos meets us for breakfast and greets us like an old friend – Athos has been our ever consistent contact in Brazil and it is beautiful to see how the relationship has developed over the intervening years. Athos takes us to the large Serra Negra farm which was where his Grandmother was born and raised. The farmhouse needs some serious renovating but has a beautiful lake and there are ambitious plans to create a boutique base for coffee tours and trips in the future. We head to Vira Mao and it is a national holiday (still no idea what for…) so the whole Caixeta family are at the farmhouse where we join them for lunch. Less like a sit down meal together and more like an afternoon with various bbq boards, games of volleyball and lots of sharing of stories.
We go for an early evening walk through the coffee trees with Athos and Isaltino. They share some of the realities of managing the farm and navigating the volatility of the coffee market. We reach the prayer bench overlooking the farm and have the privilege of praying over the farm and Caixeta family. It’s an opportunity to be grateful for all the work together over the last 15 years, for this next crop and future provision for their families. It is very moving to have a close friendship like this and I know this was a real highlight for Athos and Isaltino.
A large part of the trip was to shore up our supply of Brazilian coffee for the next few years. Having a wider pool of farmers that we know and trust gives us more security and transparency if one farm has a particularly low yield and also means we can grow as a business with increased direct trade established. The Manaaim Community is a collection of farmers who live close by to the Vira Mao farm. We spent some time with father and son, Valdo and David, at their farm Montana de Boa Esparanza, ‘the mountain of good hope.’ They are extremely hospitable and eager to show us the farm and their coffee. We meet Helinho and his son Lucas at Nascentes da Serra, ‘Spring Mountain.’ They are good friends of the Caixeta family and seem like great guys. The farm is well maintained and they are particularly excited to show us a new varietal – Arara. It is yellow in colour, sweet tasting and is of a high quality with a high yield – a great combo! We had the opportunity to meet around 20 of the Manaaim producers the next morning at their church gathering. It was a chance for us to communicate who we are and how we would like to partner with producers in a transparent and direct way. We are looking forward to the coffee being harvested in the next month or so and getting some samples – watch this space.
The trip culminated with several goodbyes – we take the Caixeta family out for pizza and it’s a great way to end a memorable trip. We laugh about small moments from our time together, from Ians dodgy footie skills, my dinner table mishap and our general incompetence at Portuguese. For me it was my first time visiting the country and my overall reflection from the trip is the importance and weight we put on the relationships we have built as a company over the last 15 years. We have experienced real highs together with both Athos and Demilson, with some issues as well. Through honest conversations and learning from experience we are seeing the fruit of working with these great people and the wonderful coffee they produce.
Coffee Market Updates and Trends
The main conversation we had with farmers, producers and general coffee people is the huge increase in labour costs. The main reason being a labour shortage caused most likely by urban migration amongst younger people. A coffee picker can now earn up to 10 times the amount of minimum wage! From working with other coffee producing countries it is hard to see how Brazilian coffee can be competitive with such high labour costs compared to other countries. Coffee prices are heading back up. Vietnam, the second largest producer of coffee, is seeing a 20% drop in this years harvest. Although 95% of coffee in Vietnam is robusta this is pushing up the price of Robusta and in turn Arabica coffee. Environmental factors are also affecting the harvest this year. Continued effects of climate change are causing changes to weather patterns and harvest times. This year crop has also been plagued by leaf rust and pests attacking the harvest. We are committed to buying the higher grade coffee that our farmers produce. This year we are expecting that this higher quality coffee (screen 16-18) will only account for around 5% of the harvest compared to around 30% from an average year. B
More challenges and trails in the years ahead with the constant reminder that we have a responsibility to look after our planet and reverse the effects of climate change. However we are encouraged that from an environmental, ethical and relational standpoint our model of direct trade will help steer us through whilst supporting some wonderful people and the communities they serve.
