Once the announcement of the finalists began the atmosphere inside the auditorium became electric. As each winner took the stage their friends and families erupted in cheers and applause. The pride each of the producers' eyes was wonderful. Each producer was greeted on stage by the buyer of their lot, Silvio Leite, representatives of Pinhalense Agriculture Equipment, Cafe Bom Dia, and SEBRAE. The top three spots in each category also received cash prizes. After the awards ceremony, everyone headed upstairs for the reception where delicious Brazilian salgados, doces, and batidos were served. The judges had a chance to meet and talk with the finalists and discuss their coffees more in depth. The buyers also talked about how they would be selling the coffees in the USA and how the marketing materials would include information about the farmers themselves.


TransFair USA's Miguel Zamora congratulates Luiz Adalto de Oliveira of COOPFAM for taking 1rst place in the Naturals category
Photo: All rights Clay Enos


Francisco Braga who took 1rst place in the Semi-washed category is carried on stage by his fellow Pronova co-op members.
Photo: All Rights Clay Enos


Oscar Gonzales of Sustainable Harvest Inc. with members of COOPERVITAE from Nova Rezende.
Photo: All Rights Clay Enos


Darrin Daniel of Allegro Coffee, Beat Grueninger, and Andrew Miller of Cafe Imports pose with Jose Carlos de Paiva and his wife, who was very important to the drying and raking of the 3rd place natural coffee from COOPFAM.
Photo: All Rights Clay Enos

More pictures to come! Stay tuned.