Brazil - Jaguara

This coffee has been produced by Natália Brito & André Luíz Garcia, on their farm, Jaguara.

Jaguara is the name of Natália and André’s farm, but also of their exporting company that sources coffee from other producers in the region. They are one of our main suppliers in Brazil, with whom we have built a very strong relationship with over the years.

The Jaguara farm was initially founded by three friends, Antonio Wander, Rubem Carlos and Rubem Murilo. They planted its first coffee trees in 2001, in the area of Campo das Vertentes. The farm was named after a prominent Quilombola community in the region.

The farm is now owned by André Luíz Garcia, his wife, Natália Moreira Brito and their son, Benicio Garcia.

André is a third generation producer. He is an agronomist and researcher at the Procafé Foundation, specialising in pruning and producing coffees. Natália is a second generation producer, cupper and trader. They work together to develop their farm further, by supporting and complementing each other in different areas of production. They create a wide range of profiles by diversifying their fermenting and drying procedures.

Jaguara Farm is situated next to São João del Rei, a very historic town for the colonisation of Brazil. The town is traditionally well-known for its gold mining opportunities, not for its coffee production. However, with its high altitude mountains (for Brazilian standards), the area’s coffee trees have adapted very well.

The farm has red/yellow, volcanic soil, with a medium texture, typical in the Brazilian savanna region. The varieties they grow are acaia, Yellow Catuai, Yellow Catucai and Mundo Novo.

Andre’s work with Procafé provides him with insight on various cultivars, and how they can grow on his own farm. They only process coffees as Naturals, but are willing to experiment within this realm.

Impact

André Garcia and Natália Brito are on a mission to provide the best coffees from the Jaguara region. With extensive experience in the industry, they’re both heavily involved in the entire production process, from harvest to delivery.

They pay a lot of attention to sustainable practices, the environment, and social benefits for their workers. They use environment-friendly technology, they implement weed management, pruning and other practices. Their farm’s nutrient balance is supplied by organic compounds associated with rock minerals.

When we met Natália, she was initially involved in the commercial market, but wanted to add more value to her operations. Together, we embarked on a journey to discover the smaller, unknown producers of her region with a lot of potential. Since then, we have developed relationships with plenty of quality oriented smallholders and support them with their specialty production.

We actively contribute to their product development, and have seen a significant increase in quality. This has given us the opportunity to scale the production of specialty, expand the market further, and help producers benefit from higher premiums. We can now source a greater product range of complex, unique Brazilian coffees that are very different from what is typically associated with the origin.