The soul ofBrazilian coffee
Some places, more than others, help you truly understand coffee and its value. Minas Gerais is one of them.
In June 2025 we travelled to Brazil, the heart of the world’s coffee production – to the region of Minas Gerais, to be precise. Together with IWCA Italia, we visited five different plantations, all run by first-, second- or third-generation women producers.
In Ibiraci we were hosted by Lais, co-owner of the Cocapil Specialty Coffee cooperative. Together with her husband, she runs a huge, well-organised operation, recognised across the region as a benchmark for the industry. Here tradition meets modernity and innovation, with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities and a first-rate laboratory where research and experimental processing take place.
In Boa Esperança we met Luiza, a young grower who is also an agronomist, consultant and researcher. Her coffee is guided by her expertise and a scientific approach: every coffee is analysed and looked after so that each of its characteristics can be understood, enhanced and optimised.
Maria Helena welcomed us in Ingaí to her family farm, which bears the name of her late husband and carries on his story and legacy. She grows her coffee with love and care, treating her plants as if they were her children. An exceptional product born from a love story — not only between two people, but also for coffee and the land.
In Oliveira, Thais hosted us at her fazenda. Touring her plantations, we saw both mechanical and hand picking and several stages of processing, from sorting to drying. With great honesty and sensitivity, she told us about her love for her work, without hiding the difficulties of the market or how hard it is, day after day, to keep this trade going.
Our last stop was Varginha, where we were welcomed by Dona Zezinha, a coffee producer and restaurateur. Here coffee growing goes hand in hand with hospitality, in an unusual business she runs with her husband. Their farm produces award-winning coffees, recognised among the best in the region. One of their quirks? The coffee is left to rest in containers with music playing in the background because, she believes, coffee can feel and absorb the positive energy around it.
Five women, five farms, five different stories, united by the same passion for coffee and the determination with which they face the challenges of an increasingly complex market every day. Five encounters that left us with far more than travel memories: they reminded us that coffee is not just what we find in our cup, but everything that comes before it – the land, the work, the people and the stories that make it possible.
Coming back to our roastery after a trip like this means seeing that coffee with new eyes and recognising its true value. And today, whenever we taste a coffee, we know that behind its aroma and flavour are the faces of Lais, Luiza, Maria Helena, Thais, Dona Zezinha and so many other women and men like them.
