Flora
Origin: Mantiqueira de Minas, Brazil
Farm: Fazenda Pedra Preta
Process: Natural
Varietal: Catucaí
Notes: Chocolate, Nuts, Creamy
We spent a night at Eduardo's farm, walking the fields under the setting sun, coming back among fireflies and starlight. That's when we fell for it - not just the place, but Eduardo himself. He's young, smart, incredibly warm, and he's doing something bold.
Eduardo's father was a conventional coffee farmer. Good guy, but old school. Eduardo convinced his dad to let him experiment with regenerative agroforestry on a small section of the farm. When that worked, his father handed him the keys to the whole operation. Now the entire farm runs on agroforestry principles - building soil, integrating native trees, working with nature instead of against it.
The transformation is visible everywhere. Every five rows of coffee, Eduardo plants rows of perennial trees - homes for insects, birds, and beneficial wildlife. Instead of spraying chemicals to control pests, he introduced wasps that prey on the insects that damage coffee cherries. Different species of bees pollinate throughout the property. Birds return to nest. The perennial tree rows serve double duty: habitat for wildlife and natural barriers against soil erosion. It's a living system where every element supports the others.
That underdog story sold us. We became Eduardo's exclusive European roaster and distributor. The Flora partnership - a collaboration we're building together.
The farm sits lower than our other origins, between 700-850 meters. Eduardo grows Catucaí varieties and processes them naturally, drying the cherries whole in the Brazilian sun.
