We’re thrilled to finally work with Adolfo Henrique Vieira Ferreira, the owner of Fazenda Passeio. Our green buyer Belle visited his farm several years ago and explains: “Adolfo is by far the most passionate Brazilian farmer I ever met. He’s also president of the Brazilian part of the Specialty Coffee Association and he’s very keen on helping other farmers teaching new techniques and cultivate varietals. Furthermore, Passeio is extremely beautiful and produces some stunning Brazilian coffees!”.
The farm is located in the southern part of Minais Gerais, Brazil, where an abundance of specialty coffees is grown. Owner Adolfo is a real example for others in the Brazilian specialty coffee industry: he puts his heart and soul into his work and is fully committed to obtain the highest quality. Compared to other Brazilian farms, Passeio is relatively small. Whereas machine plucking is the standard here, the coffee at Passeio is picked by hand and by the use of hand machines. The Vieira Ferreira family has been producing coffee in the region for over three generations. They do their absolute best to improve and increase productivity with respect to the environment and the local workforce, which is a large part of the operation. In all their work, they emphasize on social improvement: all of the local workers receive social support, such as schooling, workforce training, and environmental education.
A revolutionary cup, that is how this coffee truly can be called. By drinking it, you can join the Kenyan coffee revolution and help us change the coffee industry. The coffee comes from the Ndaroini washing station, in the Nyeri region, Kenya: one of the best coffee regions in the country.
That’s why our founder, Menno was surprised by the quality and volume of the coffee that seemed to decrease year after year. After investigating, he found out that two key issues: low and late payments towards smallholders and low yields because of little funds and too little knowledge. Unsurprisingly this resulted in demotivated farmers.
Together with green coffee supplier Trabocca, Menno made a plan to set up a new supply chain that would make farmers independent from bureaucratic multinationals.
By explaining the farmers about his future plans and how to realise them
by supporting them with knowledge and fair prices, Trabocca – together with Ndaroini Coffee Ltd. started a new movement that seeks to award the hardest working people in the industry: the smallholders. Instead of paying 55 to 82 Kenyan shilling (Ksh) per kilo coffee cherries (as reported by the Daily Nation as an industry standard) they pay 100 Ksh per kg cherries and an additional 21 Ksh to the factory for quality improvements. The higher prices per kg cherries stimulate growers to invest in their farms. By drinking The Blend, you are able to be part of changing the coffee industry!
The Sasaba washing station is found in the Oromia area, in the Guji Zone near Sidamo. The washing station is pretty remote; Ethiopia was not famous for its great roads, but this one is especially out-of-the-way: Sasaba can only be reached by a six-wheel drive truck. Tsegaye, the owner of Sasaba, is leading a very tight production schedule. Together with Trabocca, the quality of the washing station is improved every year. The ripe, red cherries are produced in the surroundings of the washing station by several smallholders. Smallholders are farmers with an average of ten to fifteen coffee plants per farmer, who also produce crops like maize and peas. This coffee is extremely clean, sweet and super fruity. We were blown away from the very first sip.