Region :              Matas de Minas
Farm :                   Café Farm Carmelito
Altitude :            1,350 masl
Process :             Pulped Natural
Variety :              Red Catuai
Q Score :              85.75

Aroma: Tropical profile
Cup: Heavy body, excellent weight and texture. Soft acidity. Peach, orange, hazelnut.

Coffee Bio:

An interview with Rosangela Moura Alves:

How did you start in the coffee business ?
My parents and grandparents were coffee growers, and I have followed in their footsteps.

Can you tell us more about your background ?
Well, I am Rosângela Moura Alves, but most people call me Rosinha. We live in Santa Margarida – an inland city located in the southwest region of Minas Gerais. I was born a a coffee grower and continue to represent my family in the art of producing coffee.
My trajectory began in 1999, when my father, José Alves, gave by brothers and I a plot of coffee each so that we could learn to take care of it. However, I was the last one to pick and and got the most difficult parcel, but at the time we didn’t know about the importance of altitude and were not aware of specialty coffee.

What kind of practice you implemented with HRNS help?
Women play an important role in coffee production and quality, participating in the harvesting, drying, recording and final sorting. We are extremely happy for the FORÇA CAFÉ PROJECT, which has been bringing an opportunity for families and women to be recognized and valued.
With technological advances and the ease of information, the community has been excited to participate in studies to improve coffee quality.
It has been a great opportunity to keep learning, and learning by doing.

What kind of challenge still persist?
It is still difficult to sell lots that are not awarded through the contest, but Forca Cafe brings a lot of attention to our coffees and a lot more stability.

Has there been any positive impact on the farm ?
We have experienced an increase in yield, thanks to the technicians who are always guiding us to do soil analysis and monitor management cost.
Through improved efficiency, today we spend less and have better results.

Coffee quality has also increased. We planted new coffee varieties which helped a lot… It was very relevant… today we have a well selected coffee, harvested at the right time and working on drying correctly. As a result 40% of our production meets the specialty coffee standards and we have received great benefits through this quality.

Does your children help in their parents on the farm?
Our son is only 9 years old, but I believe he will be my successor and continue this process of coffees with great qualities, in which he follows the whole process from foot to cup in the tastings!

What are you aspiring to in the future ?
We want to keep improving and ensure that our neighbors, who have been following our process, may also have the opportunity to sell their coffee successfully. That way, we hope that the whole region will gain recognition for quality.
Today, with the formation of Cooperative Coopefelix, we have reached important milestones. Our dream is that we can have a tourist route with easier access in the countryside, especially during the rainy season, which makes work and travel very difficult.

What is your message to the sponsor of this project?
Well! I hope that in my few words you can understand my gratitude that I feel for participating in the Family Farming Project. I am very grateful to have you as partners in my family’s journey; it’s an honor to be recognized by such an amazing organization, thank you for receiving so many awards, and I want to say that our work is far from over, but what we’ve done together so far has already made a huge difference in my life and that of my family; let’s roll up our sleeves and continue on this journey with more dedication than ever… I just have to thank HRNS and keep asking for a vote of confidence in our work so that we can continue to be partners and friends that we are, I keep saying without you we wouldn’t have made it this far, so we need you to keep walking with us. Thank you very much.

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