Sitio Embira

For the month of February we are featuring this special coffee from Brazil.
​We will be donating $1 from every bag of Sitio Embira as well as 100% of the proceeds from The Triumph: Black Brazilians in Coffee booklet to The Blue Heart Foundation.

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Brazil is known for its high productivity and highly mechanized coffee production, Luiz Carlos Romão knew that he wanted to own a coffee farm and produce specialty coffee on a small scale. He grew up working in coffee, he left to pursue a better life but over time he moved back to the countryside with his family. He explains specialty coffee by saying, “It gives us something special, relationships, and opportunities, like the ones I’m developing now.” Luiz has been working with another famer, not far from his property. Although they compete in the local quality competitions, they work together in finding buyers for their specialty coffees. When the Romão family purchased Sítio Embira five years ago there were 900 coffee trees planted. Today the 4.8-hectare farm has 15,000 coffee trees. Luiz, his wife Edilaine, and older son Diego work as a team, they each have their own role in the family business. Luiz enjoys picking the coffee beans while Edilaine and Diego are responsible for drying and processing. Luiz explains, “Edilaine is the center of our work, she has a special touch and temperament that makes the coffee taste sweet.” Edilaine is also in charge of the finances and ensuring that they earn a profit from the sale of their coffee. Edilaine is learning to taste coffees, so they will understand the quality of their crop. Diego is unlike many other teenagers who leave the farm life of the countryside for the city. He enjoys working in coffee with his family. He is studying English so that he can help take the family coffee business to the next level. Diego is a role model to his younger brothers. In a recent local coffee competition, called Field of Slopes contest Diego came in 3rd place in the youngest producer category.

Region

In the center of the southern part of the State and occupies an area of 19,896 square kilometers. Campo das Vertentes region represent 3.4% of the total state of Minas Gerais. The mountainous region has varying altitudes that range from 500 to 1,000m. The climate is mild, with a cool, rainy summer and a very cold winter in the higher regions. The land is irrigated by several streams with many waterfalls. The mineral resources of the soil are many, due to the geographic constitution of this part of Minas Gerais. Coffee farms are known to have been in existence in the area since around the 1860s. Most of the planting, however, was done on a small scale for self-consumption.