Meet some of 4,000 family farms Nucoffee partners with to bring the world's most reliable and unique green beans to roasters. These innovative producers have a passion for the land and a heart for the harvest. We are honored to showcase a few of them here.
Suely began managing 17 years ago, when her husband died. Prior to that, she only performed housework and helped out just a little with the crops and assisting the staff. Her brother helped her in the first two years, but today she manages the five plots, and over 26 hectares (64 acres) belonging to her children which were handed down from their grandparents. In 2010, Suely invested in infrastructure for the property. “I love what I do, and I intend to improve production. The crops are well-cared for here,” she adds. She credits the climate and soil quality has key factors which contribute to her quality product and, “Allowing the grain to rest is also essential”, she says. Suely intends to always improve production as well. She concludes by stating that her daughter, who is 18 years-old, wants to follow in her footsteps with a career in agronomy.
When, at an auction, Porthos Mendes Pinto bought Sítio Minori, he knew there was a lot of hard work ahead of him. The property had been abandoned for 15 years, but he didn’t lose heart because he knew the land had potential and he was sure of his own capacity. Porthos acknowledges that the beginning was tough. He had to clean the fields, prepare the soil, plant and wait for two and a half years before seeing the first results; a harsh wait for someone who had invested a lot and was aware of the uncertainties of the land. The first twenty thousand coffee plants have turned into more than thirty-three thousand today, and Porthos now can see his work bear fruit.
In 1953, Fioravanti’s inherited this former potato farm from his father. Everything went well until 1967, when their business was in a slump and the Malaguttis needed to find alternatives. “We had been planting potatoes for twenty years and then we couldn’t plant or eat”. Noticing that coffee plants grew vigorously in a neighboring farm, Fioravanti decided to give it a shot. Like someone who asks his neighbor for sugar, he asked for some seeds and got 3L of it. He remembers the beginning and the first results: “We started to plant and prepare the land. It was as if I was taking care of a newborn baby. And it worked out”. Today, Fioravanti hopes the new generations carry on with the love for the land