I took a recent trip to Brazil to buy coffees for our winter menu. My goal before setting
out was to learn more about Brazilian coffee and get to know the people behind these
lovely coffees. I understand now, first hand, how big Brazil is. The majority of my time
was spent on a plane or in a car going from one destination to another, usually fast and
frankly frightening.
 
After a long flight from Newark to Belo Horizonte I met up with our exporter Bruno
Souza. We got right to work and sample roasted nine coffees for cupping the next
morning. We cupped in the café where Bruno samples roasts. The café’s style was really
awesome. I made a few drinks with Bruno on bar and even though I could understand
anything people were saying it felt just like being at home.
 
The next morning we set out early to drive to Campos Altos, where Bruno’s family farm
is located, and then on to Patrocinio to visit Ruvaldo Delarisse on his farm Chapadoa
de Ferro. Chapadoa de Ferro is a farm we served coffee from last year and will again
this year! Seeing the farm and their operations put a lot of things in perspective for me.
They are continuously producing great coffees and it is in large part due to the meticulous
processing methods employed on the farm.
 
The next day was spent driving back to Belo Horizonte and arriving in time to get some
sleep and get on a plane to Salvador the next morning. From Salvador we drove to Piatã
arriving there around 8.00pm after traveling three hours by plane and seven by car. The
only thing on my mind was having a shower and going to sleep but we had producers to
meet. We walked through the tiny town to a meeting hall and waiting outside were about
20 producers. It was a pretty awesome feeling, as the room started to fill with producers
all like-minded about looking for ways to improve the quality of their harvest.
 
The farms in Piatã were beautiful, mostly small, around 15 hectares, high grown (1350-
1400 meters above sea level) shade grown, harvested by hand, and producing remarkable
coffees. We spent that day cupping 60 different lots from farms around the area.
After the long day of work we spent an hour or so chatting with the farmers about the
results. We tasted some really promising coffees as well as got to know some wonderful
producers.
 
Leaving was harder than I thought it would be, after tasting these beautiful coffees, I wished
we could have spent a week in Piatã visiting more farms. I left feeling really excited to
work with these producers! Getting back to New York is always a funny readjustment no
matter how long or short a time I’ve spent away but our coffees are better for it.