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Brazil (3)

Fenicafé event in Cerrado Mineiro region, Brazil

Posted by NUCOFFEE on April 14, 2011 at 12:06pm
Here are some pictures of our participation in Fenicafé, one of the most important events directed to coffee producers in Brazil. The event was recorded and published on UStream, which you can see here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/fenicafe
 
Fenicafé is attended by thousands of producers from the Cerrado Mineiro region of Brazil, mainly from the Araguari area. In these pictures you´ll see banners telling the story of producers who are experts in quality and best farming practices – this is very inspiring to other producers.
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We have a cafeteria in this booth, designed to bring some of the look and feel of a specialty coffee shop. We have a barista interacting with producers and pouring great espressos from a fantastic La Marzocco machine. By doing this we share the specialty coffee culture with producers and bring a perspective from the market from the roaster and barista point of view.
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We also show our traceability system as tool to foster best farming practices to ensure an ethically grown coffee.
Please join us on Facebook and Twitter, too. 
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Visiting coffee friends in Brazil...

Posted by Miguel Zamora on July 13, 2008 at 8:30pm
I recently traveled to Brazil to visit several coffee producer organizations and friends. I went to Poco Fundo and Nova Resende in Southern Minas, to Lajinha in Eastern Minas and to Venda Nova do Imigrante in Espitito Santo (a lovely town founded by Italian immigrants, many of whom arrived to Brazil to work in coffee in the 1800’s).Poco Fundo grows one of my favorite coffees from Brazil. I visited COOPFAM http://www.coopfam.com.br/ and spent time with Luis Adauto, president of the co-op. COOPFAM is a good example of how Fair Trade helps coffee producers around the world. Small-farmers members of Poco Fundo have significantly improved their livelihoods in the last 3 years thanks to the improved prices they are receiving for their coffee (Poco Fundo sells most of its coffee as Fair Trade Certified). COOPFAM invests a good portion of their Fair Trade premium in environmental projects. Several U.S. roasters and importers are part of this successful story that is still being written.In Nova Resende, I visited Coopervitae, a relatively recent coffee co-op formed by small producers and growing in membership every year. Geraldo, from Coopervitae, is one of the nicest persons I have met in Brazil. He is working very hard to improve the livelihoods of small producers in his region and his organization is attracting several new members. I was interviewed in the local radio where I had the chance to talk about Fair Trade and the work we are doing to support small farmers in Nova Resende.In Lajinha, I visited Coocafe, the biggest Fair Trade Certified co-op in Brazil. Fernando, president of Coocafe, has been actively participating in improving the work that we do in the U.S. to promote Fair Trade Certified coffee. He is part of our coffee advisory council formed by around 10 producer representatives from all over the world. Coocafe is investing in training their members in order to improve coffee quality and in technically assisting their members with improved agricultural techniques. In addition, Coocafe is heavily involved in a financial co-op that provides credit to thousands of coffee producers in the region.The trip to Espirito Santo and Eastern Minas was very long. Traveling in Brazil can take forever when moving around coffee regions. In Espirito Santo, there is a producer organization called Pronova, that is doing a remarkable work in improving the quality of the coffee produced in the region in order to improve the lives of hundreds of producers. Since this region is not as high as other coffee regions in Brazil, Pronova members semi-wash their coffees in order to improve the cup characteristics (most of the small coffee farmers I visited in Southern Minas process their coffee using the natural method). Pronova is implementing great projects trying to empower women in the region and to improve coffee quality and the environmental practices of their members. Every year, working with the local government and some industry partners, they implement a quality competition that takes into accounts social and environmental aspects (the coffees and the farms are evaluated not only on the characteristics of the cup but also on how the producers implement a set of environmental standards such as the Fair Trade standards). I have not heard of other competitions like this one but I think it is a great example for other regions. Jackie , Pedro and Evair at Pronova are doing an amazing job to improve the lives of coffee producers in their region.This trip was a great chance to keep learning from several producers about the challenges and opportunities they are facing and to share with some amazing people from one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

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The loss of a truly passionate barista. Joel Starr will be missed.

Posted by Matt Milletto on August 27, 2008 at 12:00pm
Just got off the phone with Chuck Jones and he informed me that Joel Starr, previously of Ninth St. Espresso in NYC, www.thirdwavecoffee.net and currently working for Castle and Company in Los Angeles, California, passed away on a vacation in Brazil. My heart and thoughts go out to his family and friends. This is a sad day for the specialty coffee industry and so sad to lose someone with so much passion and love for coffee. If anyone has stories they would like to share about Joel, or would like to write anything else, please feel free to share in the comments section. - Matt

from left to right; Phillip Hand (Supreme Bean), Greg Torres (La Mill Coffee), Kei Okumura (La Mill Coffee), Ty McNulty (Groundwork), Joel Starr (Castle and Company), Tim Castle (Castle and Company), James Marcotte (IntelligentsiA Coffee) Photo by Joan Nielsen Here is an open letter from Tim Castle and their team: Dear Friends and Colleagues - It is with great sadness that we must report the passing of our good friend and associate Joel Starr. After traveling to some coffee farms in Brazil, Joel was taking some vacation time in Sao Paulo and there contracted Meningococcal Meningitis Septicemia early Monday morning. The infection was extremely aggressive and despite what we believe to have been state-of-the-art care at Sao Luis Hospital in Sao Paulo, Joel succumbed to the infection yesterday evening. It is shocking to all of us that we could lose such a vibrant and talented young man with so little warning. We will keep you posted as to the plans and of the family as we become aware of them. Obviously, Joel's parents and brothers are devastated and our hearts go out to them. With great sadness, Tim, Joan, Dana and David
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