People
Márcia de Jesus Souza Borges and her husband Maurillo own two small farms in the region of Campanha in the Mantiqueira Mountains in Minas Gerais. They purchased Sítio Nossa Senhora Aparecida and later inherited Nossa Senhora da Paz from Maurillo’s father. They live on the farm with their two children, who are both equally as passionate about specialty coffee and love experimenting with fermentation and learning about the industry.
The farms are almost entirely family run, unless they need a few helping hands during harvesting. Back in 2011 they were feeling unmotivated and considered selling the farm, until they entered the Cup of Excellence and to their surprise came 11th place, Since then they have loved taking part in many competitions and really seeing how their coffee quality improves.
Product
Sítio Nossa Senhora Aparecida is a small farm yielding around 250 bags per year from their 8.5 hectares. Marcia and Maurillo have put their heart and soul into producing the best quality coffee they can. They are also certified Fairtrade and Certifica Minas, as well as being in the process of becoming Organic. Their goal for the next few years is to become the winner of the Cup of Excellence, which we think they’re well on their way to achieving!
They always reform their crop, meaning that they are harvested biannually. They had a good harvest year and expect next year to be even better!
Price
Planet
Alongside coffee, they also harvest corn and avocados, as well as raising chickens, pigs & fish. All of this helps keep the farm running and means they’re not solely reliant on their income from coffee.
They are more than aware of the volatile climate situation in Brazil, having experienced a year of zero harvest due to drought. However with the help of The Coffee Quest, they have access to quality markets which helps them increase their margins and allows them to invest in improving the quality of their coffee and preventative measures against climate change.
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