“Trips to Origin”: the taste of coffee is in their stories as well
More than knowing the origin of coffee, Nucoffee program "Trips to Origin" invite roasters from all over the world to know the origin of those behind the production.
These are life stories of people who have in their hands, their smiles and their heart the daily experience of tasting the sweet and bitter side of each stage, from planting to postharvest.
The stories and experiences behind each bag produced, each coffee bean to be roasted.
Stories like those of Marcio, Ismael and Alessandro who welcomed roasters from Belgium and Poland in the last two editions of “Trips” held in mid-July and early August of 2019.
Marcio Luiz Palma Resende – Fazenda Limeira
With coffee-grower grandparents and parents, Marcio has the DNA of coffee in his blood. Still young, in 2000, he became the third generation of the family to join the coffee production business.
However, it was only five years later that Marcio and his family decided to innovate and focus on the production of special and high quality coffee.
“We have learned to perform a postharvest work that is our differential to add quality to our coffee. By using Syngenta's cutting-edge products, we can meet our goals much faster and more assertively”.
With a commitment to achieve both economic and social sustainability, Marcio believes that working with responsibility and ethical principles will further differentiate his production.
“Besides good products, Nucoffee offers very interesting barters which add value to the economic sustainability cornerstone. Without this, it would be impossible to work and remain in such a competitive market we operate today. Nucoffee's barter has a big impact on costing with high quality products.
Ismael Nogueira Rodrigues Alves – Fazenda Aleluia
"My grandfather was a warehouse supervisor and had a trade business. My father started planting coffee in 1964, two years before I was born.”. That is how Ismael summarizes his family history. He is the 3rd generation of coffee producers.
With the conviction that he was born a coffee farmer and with his family concept, by which one follows the footsteps of the other, he believes that the differential of his coffee is also this social focus, dedication and integration with the team.
“We have a close relationship with our staff. Three of them are also in their 3rd generation working with us. The grandfather of one of them worked in our farm for 25 years, the father worked all his life with us and he, the son, has been working on the farm for almost 5 years now”.
However, if on one side we have people who make a difference, on the other side we count on technological innovations in a farm that has always bet on breakthrough innovations. "My father has been using a mechanical dryer since 1974. I think he was one of the first in the region," says Ismael proudly.
And the objective of group working and investment in technology brought Ismael to Nucoffee, aiming at "cutting costs, searching for biologically non-aggressive products with good results in the high-yielding crop, and giving visibility to the farm through a direct contact with the roaster".
With the great results obtained with the sale partnership with Nucoffee, Ismael believes that those producers who do not adhere to direct marketing, such as commodity, will be left behind.
His clear vision of the future has also made him consider the possibility of adhering to Nucoffee’s controlled fermentation process. “For nano and microlots, fermentation is an interesting tool for the nuances and possibilities of my coffee. Something that can help in the general context of production”.
Alessandro Oliveira – Fazenda AP
It was back in 2001 that Alessandro started to plant coffee in Fazenda AP.
In the cradle of the São Francisco River, in Serra da Canastra, a well-known region for the production of traditional cheeses, the ideal climate – which also favors the production of high-quality coffee - led the agronomist to become a coffee farmer.
Alessandro's coffee production is sustainable. In his farm the rainwater is used in the planting so as to preserve nature, the same nature that offers him the land for his tasty coffee.
“Here we use the rainwater to cultivate the coffee aiming to save water for the planet and for people and activities that depend on it more than we do”.
As a Nucoffee partner, Alessandro opens the doors of his production site to welcome roasters and at the same time present his coffee to the world market.
“This connection with roasters is essential, and Nucoffee does it with excellence, bringing the meritocracy concept into the coffee universe. If the coffee is well scored and valued, Nucoffeee offers an opportunity for the Brazilian producer, doing so with transparency like no other initiative does”.
About “Trips to Origin”
A moment of real connection between producers and roasters. That is what "Trips to Origin" is about.
Implemented about 10 years ago, Nucoffee's program aims to bring roasters from around the world to the lands of origin of Brazilian coffees.
The guided tours to farms and cooperatives provide enriching dialogues on the step-by-step process of production of coffee beans, but especially the sharing of individual routines of people who work in coffee production, an experience that transcends the relationship between roasters and producers.
