Travel journal - from the Brazilian tropics
Back to Overview | Published: 16/07/18 | Duration: 3 min read |
Part of being able to produce awesome coffees comes from the close relationships we have with our farming partners. You can taste their care and attentive work in each cup we serve.
Our baristas Yuko and Jake visited the beautiful producing regions of Minas Gerais and São Paulo in Brazil. Spending time with our partners Fazenda Um, Sitio Canaa, Fazenda da Mata and Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza - or: FAF. To get to know in loco how their coffee is being produced and processed. They also spent a weekend working and sharing experiences with baristas at Boram Um´s award winning concept: Um Coffee, São Paulo.
Our Yuko is originally from Japan and worked as Headbarista at London´s “Timberyard Coffee" before joining our company. She was also New York´s Coffee Master in 2016. Yuko says: "The trip to Brazil was absolutely one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was impressed by visiting the farms and seeing how our partners grow coffee, how much effort they put in each process, and how they are experimenting new ideas to get their coffee quality to a next level. As a barista, I'm doing something completely different, but it is amazing to see that everyone is connected and working hard to create a delicious cup of coffee. Brazil has so much potential to produce higher quality coffee and I can’t wait to brew and taste more!”.
Jake is leadbarista at our Roastery Café and also looks after gearing all our equipment at THE BARN. He comes with a wealth of coffee experience from his homeland which is New Zealand. “I learned so many things on this trip. Not only was it a fantastic opportunity to meet the producers behind our coffee, but also to better understand the thought and care that goes into the agricultural aspect of our industry. I was blown away by the knowledge and attention to detail from our Brazilian partners, and also by how humble and welcoming they all were to us!".
Fazenda Um
Fazenda Um is located on the beautiful Mantiqueira region, Minas Gerais, one of the world’s most well-known regions for specialty coffee. Stephano Um started cultivating specialty coffees in 2012 and grows many different varietals. THE BARN took the first harvest of Fazenda Um two years ago and manifested a strong relationship since then. We will hear many great things about Fazenda Um and we are happy to be part of that journey.
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Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza - FAF
FAF is supporting more than 70 producers that changed from conventional to specialty coffee farming. FAF experiments with fermentation, processing, and yeast are leading the way to elevate quality in Brazil. Staying together as a community of quality growers is largely driven by FAFs support and sharing of knowledge.
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From the farm to the cup: Um Coffee and co.
Yuko and Jake spent their last weekend in São Paulo working at Um Coffee and Co. Stephano's (Fazenda Um) son Boram together with his brother Goran opened the coffee shop in 2015, where they roast the coffee they serve and also offer workshops. Um Coffee and Co. was elected the Best Coffeeshop in Brazil in 2017.
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